The General and Kaden
by Night N. Gail
Summary: "After the Great War, Polaris was a dangerous place..." This is the history leading up to the fall of the Lombaxes, as seen through the eyes of young Alister Azimuth and his best friend. Rated T for violence and some VERY MILD sexual innuendo.
1. Risk

**Foreword:**

**This story is set long before any of the Ratchet & Clank games take place, but since it details a history that is supposed to be revealed over the course of the _Future_ saga, it still constitutes spoilers for those games. Maybe I'm not the first person to attempt telling this story, but I decided to do it anyway because I felt such a strong call to it... We never got to meet Kaden in the actual games, but everything we were told about him made me think that he must've been a really cool guy, and I wanted to explore his character. So, here it is— everything Ratchet ever wanted to know about his people, his family, and what happened to them. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but I promise my sincerest efforts to see this project through to completion.**

* * *

"_However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many..."_

— _Ecclesiastes 11:8_

« ... »

"Hold it, Kaden!" Alister Azimuth called to his friend, a Lombax about a year younger than him. "You're going too fast! What if the Vullards see us?"

"Oh, come on, Al, you know they're all gone for the day," Kaden replied over his shoulder. "Besides, you're going way too slow!"

The gutsy teenager jetted ahead in his hoverboots— _laughing_ at him, the little showoff— just before turning a wide bend and gliding into the mouth of a huge cave.

Alister muttered an insult under his breath, then smiled fondly and gave his own hoverboots a kick of extra juice to catch up. He followed Kaden eagerly, their footwear sputtering blue flames from the soles to propel them forward. The two friends laughed with exhilaration as they raced about the winding caverns, whooping and hollering through wide passages and narrow tunnels like they were running on air.

They stopped before a huge chasm. Kaden looked across, then smiled and jabbed Alister in the side with his elbow, saying, "I bet I can clear that shaft and land in the mining cart on the other side."

"Yeah, that's what you said _last_ time," Alister reminded, "and you almost broke your arm."

"Emphasis on 'almost'."

"Sure, whatever," Alister muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Look, just wait here while I go down and raise the mining platform."

"Heck, no!" Kaden argued. "I'm not just gonna sit here and let _you_ have all the fun."

"Okay, _I'll_ wait then. Just don't do anything stupid down there."

Kaden nodded and glided down to the ground below, and Alister watched him pull out his wrench and set to work on the winch crank. Minutes later the bridge was up, and the two of them were racing through the mine once again.

At long last Kaden landed in front of a gaping black crevice in one of the cave walls, and he stared into its impenetrable darkness with a daring smile as Alister alighted beside him.

"Hey, Al..." he addressed his friend suggestively, turning to face him with a bold glint in his eye. "Feel like taking a leap of faith today?"

"_Oh_, no..."

Alister instinctively took a step back from his gutsy friend.

"Aw, come on!" the young daredevil prodded. "It's good to give the ol' nerves a scare once in a while, ya know? Keeps you on your toes."

"But don't you think that's too risky?"

Kaden just laughed as though Alister's were the face of Death and said, "Alister, we're Lombaxes. Risk is what makes us who we are."

"But, Kaden—"

"What's the matter? You chicken?"

"I'm not chicken, it's just—"

"You're planning to be a soldier, right? You can't get shown up by someone like me who's planning to be an _engineer_."

And with that, Kaden ignited his hoverboots and shot forward into the emptiness beyond the mouth of the crevice, disappearing completely in a matter of seconds. Alister gritted his teeth, his ears receding behind his head as he stared down into the gaping maw of his friend's foolhardy dare. At last he took in a deep breath, and activated his boots to launch himself into the abyss before him.

He closed his eyes, just to offer himself a less unsettling reason for the pitch black all around him. For a long, torturous moment, the only sound he could hear was his boots burning steadily as they suspended him in the air, carrying him slowly toward who-knew-where. Just when he thought he might have a panic attack, he felt the sudden jolt of solid ground beneath his feet.

"What did I tell you?" Kaden said (though it was still too dark to see his face). "Was that a rush or what?"

"Yeah, exhilarating," Alister muttered sarcastically. "Now light a flare, would you? I can't even see my hand in front of my face."

"All right, all right, hang on..."

A few seconds later a greenish flame sparked to life in Kaden's hand, illuminating the two Lombaxes' faces... as well as something _else_ nearby. Kaden and Alister both froze as they heard a familiar skittering sound, and they slowly turned their heads in unison to look behind them. Looming not twenty feet away from where they were standing was a gigantic tetramite nest, it's vicious inhabitants already swarming toward the source of the disturbance.

"Oh, _snap_," Alister muttered under his breath, and instantly he and Kaden jetted off as fast as they could while a wave of angry flesh-eating insects teemed after them.

This was bad. Alister knew that if the tetramites caught up with them they'd be mincemeat in no time flat, but it was dangerous to be going so fast when they couldn't see. He had to think of something _now_ if they were going to survive.

"This way!" he shouted, turning sharply to the left in hopes that they could throw off the swarm if they took advantage of their maneuvering ability.

"No, wait!" Kaden screamed. He threw his torch ahead as hard as he could, and as the small stick spun wildly off into the distance, its soft green light momentarily lit up the area dead ahead. There Alister saw yet another horror too late to be avoided: to their immediate left, as far as they could see, there was a steep, rocky incline laden with boulders and loose gravel— all of which were beginning to tumble down. The friction of their hoverboots had triggered a rock slide.

"Come on!" Kaden yelled as he jetted past his dumbfounded friend, straight into the danger zone, and for once, in spite of his terror, Alister agreed with his bold decision. There was no point going back and getting devoured by tetramites, and if they had to jet through a cave in the dark, they were safer heading into a rock slide where they knew there was solid ground ahead than they would be flying off an invisible cliff and getting impaled on a stalagmite. Still, he somewhat doubted their chances.

Sound was the only sense that Alister could rely on in his desperate position, so he strained his ears to hear the crashing and crumbling that the approaching rocks issued in warning. He also struggled to tune out the threatening cry of the insects swarming close behind him. His heart raced as he banked and dodged repeatedly every second, praying his luck would hold out until...

Light! Just ahead, he saw a beam of light, streaming into the cave from a source beyond his field of vision. And another answer to prayer: Kaden swooped into sight from the left, matching his companion's course and pace. Smiling with rekindled hope, Alister blasted forward at top speed.

But it wasn't too late for something else to go wrong. Just as the source of the light was about to come into view, his left hoverboot sputtered balefully. Mortal fear paralyzed him as he looked down and saw that the boot was failing. The stream of flames that was normally steady now coughed forth in uneven spurts, and seconds later stopped altogether.

He screamed, expecting to spin out of control and meet with a grisly end, but just then he felt a hand clasp hard around his left arm.

"Hang on!" Kaden exclaimed, and he banked to the right, swinging Alister around on his outside curve. They found themselves in a huge room, and immediately saw the opening in the cave where sunlight was streaming in... Unfortunately it was some distance away, and the ground at their feet abruptly ended in a steep drop. The two Lombaxes shrieked as they tumbled through the air, plummeting into darkness once more.

Alister's body was suddenly enveloped in icy cold, and when he couldn't draw breath to gasp he realized he was underwater. He flailed his arms and legs to propel himself upward, and inhaled with deep relief as he broke the water's surface. Kaden popped up beside him a split second later, and the two of them coughed for a few seconds as the pounding of their hearts settled down. They were safe. Wet and cold and thoroughly rattled, but safe. The dangers of falling rocks were behind them, and they both knew that tetramites would never follow them into the water.

Alister looked up and saw the opening in the cave wall, spilling delicious sunlight onto the surface of the large pool that had saved his life. He sighed in relief, then turned to Kaden and condescendingly muttered, "Well, that was fast, dangerous and fairly pointless."

"It's called an adrenaline rush," Kaden said, smiling with excitement.

Alister turned fiercely on his companion and asked in disbelief, "Are you _serious?_ You thought that was _fun?!_"

"Didn't _you?_"

"Okay, you know what, Kaden? I think I've finally figured you out. You're crazy. That's all there is to it. You're stinking insane!"

"Oh, calm down. We're still alive, aren't we?"

Just then a bubble of air broke the surface of the water right between them, commanding their attention. Worriedly the twosome peered down into the murky water below... and noticed that it was darkening. They looked up at each other wearing the same knowing, terrified expression.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

"That thing almost ate us!" Alister huffed as he and his friend hiked away from the cave. They went barefoot down the rocky slope, carrying their soaked, dysfunctional hoverboots.

"Emphasis on 'almost'," Kaden pointed out.

"No, emphasis on _'ate us'!_" Alister heaved a moan-like sigh and held up one boot to examine it, ruefully adding, "Not to mention we _totaled_ our hoverboots."

"Don't be such a whiner; you know I can fix 'em."

"You'd better!" Alister grumbled, managing a brief frown that quickly transformed into a smile. He gave his friend a hard time— a practice that was by now both mutual and virtually obligatory— but he couldn't deny how much he respected Kaden's brilliance. Lombaxes as a race were famous for being good with technology, but Kaden was _exceptionally_ gifted. The phrase 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' didn't apply to Kaden. When he set out to 'fix' something, whether it was broken or not, it would be better than new by the time he got through with it.

Alister sighed and stared up at the darkening evening sky. Already the first few stars were sparkling in the rose canopy overhead, even though the sun had only just begun to set. It was a lovely sight, but Alister regarded it with a passive glare.

"If only dark caves full of flesh-eating bugs were the most dangerous things out there."

"Yeah..." Kaden said, matching his friend's distant, somber tone. "It's hard to believe that while we were in diapers the generation before us was overthrowing an evil empire."

"Well, we didn't exactly get off scott-free, you know," Alister reminded. He didn't need to hide from his best friend the way he felt about the Great War— how its end was, in his mind, something of a Pyrrhic victory. The Cragmites might be gone, but the galaxy's troubles were far from over. With the 'evil empire' no longer in power, the Polaris galaxy had slipped swiftly and surely into anarchy. And that was only _half_ the damage.

"I know," Kaden muttered understandingly. "We lost a lot... _You_ lost a lot."

Alister dipped his head sadly, loath to be reminded of his grief.

"Your father was a great soldier, Alister," Kaden said comfortingly. "He lived well, and he died well. He left a legacy to be proud of."

"Yes, he did," Alister heartily agreed. "And I _will_ follow in his footsteps... Mark my words, someday I'm going to make a difference in this galaxy. Right, Kaden?"

No answer.

"Kaden?" Alister glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Kaden wasn't walking alongside him anymore. When he turned around he saw him standing a few paces back, facing to the left and staring intently, captivated by whatever it was he'd seen.

Alister rolled his eyes and walked over to him, then followed his line of sight to find out what had him so dumbstruck. Nearby, a young girl Lombax was harvesting nectar from a Breegus Wormroot. She had her back turned to them, but Alister knew who she was. All he needed to recognize her was to see her sleek, cream-colored fur with highlights of a lovely hazel.

"Nayeli," he muttered. "Why am I not surprised?" He turned to look at his entranced friend and blandly suggested, "Why don't you just go talk to her?"

"What would I say?" Kaden wondered aloud in a defeated tone. "'I think you're the most beautiful girl on this entire planet. Some weather we're having, huh?'"

"Remind me again which one of us is chicken."

Kaden gave his friend an annoyed look.

Alister laughed and went on, "Seriously, Kaden, what is it about you and that girl? You get around her and all that daredevil instinct and adventurous spirit just sort of goes: poof! You go from savage jungle tiger to purring little house kitten in all of two seconds and she doesn't even have to _look_ at you." He glanced over Kaden's shoulder behind him and raised an interested eyebrow as he continued, "I'm curious what you would do if _she_ came up and started talking to _you_."

"Well, if that ever happens, believe me, there's no way _you'll_ ever find out about it."

"Hello there," a soft, friendly voice greeted out of the blue, and Kaden spun around to see Nayeli standing right there. Her warm smile instantly changed into a worried look, and she softly exclaimed, "Oh my, what happened? You're both soaking wet!"

Alister hastened to explain, "Well, _this_ genius thought it would be a good idea to hoverboot off a rock ledge into the middle of— Ow!"

Kaden frowned sharply as he whacked his friend on the back of the head with one of his hoverboots.

"Oh, don't worry, we're fine," he babbled, waving his hand to dismiss her concern. "We just ran into a little trouble while hoverbooting and—ended up going swimming."

"Don't you mean 'fishing'?" Alister interjected, then got it in the stomach with Kaden's other hoverboot.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Nayeli asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

Alister stroked his chin and suggestively said, "Well..." and then dodged another of Kaden's hateful swings, leaving his friend to spin around from the weight of his weapon and fall over with a loud thump. "Ha! I win," he stated triumphantly, shooting a vengeful smile down at his vanquished foe.

Nayeli held a loose fist to her lips, suppressing a giggle. "Here, let me help you," she said, offering Kaden her hand.

Kaden sat up with his eyes closed, cradling the back of his head, and froze when he saw the arm extended toward him.

"Th-Thanks..." he stuttered, gingerly taking her hand.

Nayeli helped him to his feet, then averted her eyes and implored worriedly, "Please be careful out there, you two."

"Okay..." Kaden replied automatically.

"So what are you doing out here by yourself, Nayeli?" Alister asked. "It's getting late, you know."

Nayeli smiled and answered, "My mother needs nectar for some tea she wants to make. I was actually just about to head home."

"Well, since we're going to the same place, would you like us to walk you home?" Alister enjoyed the mortified look that Kaden shot his way.

"Are you sure?" Nayeli asked.

Alister turned to his companion and said, "I don't know, Kaden, are we sure?"

Kaden met Alister's sarcasm with an icy glare, then turned to Nayeli and tried to keep a straight face as he told her, "Yeah... we'll walk you home."

"Thank you," Nayeli said with a smile.

"No problem," Alister replied, donning a smile of his own while he gave his friend a teasing pat on the shoulder.

The time passed quietly for a while as the threesome walked the long, deserted path toward town. The sun had just set, bathing the stony landscape in a soft twilight glow. It was the one time when the boring, desert-like environment of Lumos looked truly beautiful.

Alister looked to his right and saw Nayeli, who seemed content to look up at the sky where the first stars of the night were just beginning to twinkle. He looked to his left and saw Kaden, who kept decidedly silent with his head low, as though he were ashamed. Then he looked straight ahead with a roll of his eyes, suddenly sure that it was no accident he'd ended up in the middle. He knew Kaden was shy around Nayeli, but this was ridiculous. It seemed to him that any effort to play matchmaker between these two would be a lost cause— not that he was trying to do any such silly thing. Still, it was pretty pathetic to see his best friend, who was normally a picture of boldness and unwarranted confidence, reduced to such a sorry state at the hands of a mere female. Maybe he shouldn't have offered to let her walk home with them, after all.

He nudged Kaden with his elbow and quietly grumbled in his ear, "Say something, stupid!"

Kaden swallowed and hesitated for a second before nervously muttering, "So... S-Some weather we're having, huh?"

Alister smacked his own forehead, biting his tongue to keep himself from blurting out, 'Oh, for Heaven's sake!'

Nayeli didn't seem to think his idiotic comment was strange at all, though. She just casually replied, "Oh, I know! This is my favorite time of year because it's a good temperature at night, and I love being out at night! I love to look at the stars and the moon—kind of makes me want to go out there someday and visit some of those other worlds."

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," Alister replied, latching onto the topic in spite of his earlier misgivings. "I can't wait to get off this dull little planet. Once I'm in the military, I'll get to see all kinds of different worlds and species, and maybe then I can actually do some _good_ for the galaxy."

"So you want to be a soldier?" Nayeli commented, "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, but it's not that simple," Alister said, "Lumos isn't a Lombax planet; we just have a settlement here. The formal military doesn't have any real presence on this planet."

"You could join the local militia," Nayeli suggested.

"I intend to. As soon as I come of age."

"Well, you're sixteen now, right? So that's only a year away."

"A year is a year," he argued. "I'm ready _now_. I don't want to waste my life sitting around waiting to be old enough to do what I know I should be doing."

Nayeli smiled and softly pointed out, "It won't be a waste if you use the time to prepare."

"Well said," Alister complimented, raising an impressed eyebrow. "Which is why I'm friends with Kaden. I doubt even the formal military has survival training _half_ as good as hanging out with _this_ clown."

Kaden shot him another cold frown while Nayeli giggled with amusement. Polar opposites, those two.

"So, how about you, Kaden?" Nayeli asked, purposely falling behind a step or two so she could see him. "Do you want to join the military too?"

Alister jumped in, saying, "Kaden would be wasted on any field that doesn't involve complex technology and some form of pyrotechnics. Right, buddy?"

"Well, that pretty much describes the military, doesn't it?" Kaden retorted.

Nayeli laughed again and said, "He got you there, Alister!"

Before Alister could respond, Kaden ventured to ask, "What about you, Nayeli? Any dreams for the future?"

Alister decided not to cut in this time. He was surprised his friend had worked up the guts to ask her a direct question, and he figured he should let him be for the moment.

"Hmm..." Nayeli murmured, staring thoughtfully into space. "Dreams, yes. Goals—not really. I mean, it's good to think ahead, but I have a feeling that any plans _I_ came up with probably wouldn't work out, and then I'd have to accept a future I didn't plan on, anyway. I think, for someone like me, it's better to just wait and see what happens. Right now I'm just learning, growing, being the best I can be. If I can help others to achieve success in their own lives, that would make me just as happy as achieving my own success."

Kaden stared at her in amazement as he listened to her answer, dumbstruck even when she was finished talking. She turned to look at him and asked with mild concern, "Kaden, is something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing's wrong," Kaden replied, shaking his head as though trying to snap himself out of a daze. He let his eyes drift once more to his feet and added in a low voice, "I'm fine..."

Before long they reached Nayeli's house in the suburbs at the edge of the city. It was large and spacious, with a beautifully decorated exterior and a huge, well-kept yard. Alister had never seen where she lived before, and considered for the first time that her family must be fairly wealthy.

"Thank you for walking me home," she said with a smile and a slight bow. "Good night."

She waved and headed inside while Kaden stared longingly after her. When she was inside the house and safely out of earshot, he turned sharply on Alister and said, "That was _not_ cool!"

Alister laughed as he turned and walked away. "That's payback for almost getting me killed."

Kaden frowned and dashed after his friend, and the two continued playfully arguing as they headed further into town toward their own homes.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

**Well, there you have it— the first chapter of what I hope will be a good story. I put a _ton_ of thought into this, and tried my best to make sure I understood everything there was to know about the history and geography presented in the canon (I must've watched the key cutscenes a hundred times each *-*). But naturally, there were a couple of places where a detail I needed wasn't explicitly stated anywhere in the games, and when I encountered such areas, I took it upon myself to dream up something that I thought would make sense in the universe of Ratchet & Clank. After each chapter, I'll include a notes section like this one, explaining my reasoning on a few important plot points. This is just so that you can understand what was going through my head and why I chose to do things the way I did, so please don't feel obligated to read these notes.**

- _**The Timeline of the Great War—**_** This was the biggest problem I encountered when I set out to write **_**The General and Kaden**_**. In **_**Tools of Destruction**_**, the IRIS Supercomputer states that the Lombaxes banished the Cragmites 'eons' ago, but in **_**A Crack In Time**_**, Alister Azimuth talks about 'after the war' like it happened not too long ago. M****aybe I'm just missing something, but this seems like a plot hole to m****e. Since I couldn't use both of these interpretations, I chose to go with the ACIT one, because it made more sense to me and served my purposes better.**

**- _The Lombaxes' "Legal Age"— _For the purpose of this story, I had to decide when Lombaxes come of age... that is, when they are considered legal adults. Since Lombaxes are pretty independent by nature (that's how they seem to me, at least), I thought 17 was a reasonable age to stick the label on. In this chapter, Alister is 16, and Kaden is 15 (hey, that's the same age as Ratchet in the first game, isn't it? ^-^).**

**- _The Lumos Settlement— _In ACIT, during the Raritanium mine level, Alister talks about how he and Kaden used to sneak into that mine after the Vullards left and hoverboot around. This left me with the vexing question: Where do Kaden and Alister live? It doesn't make sense for a couple of teenagers to randomly be on a strange planet playing around in mines, but Lumos is definitely a Vullard planet. My solution was for Kaden and Alister to live in a Lombax settlement on Lumos. I doubt I'll have the time/capacity to explore the history of this settlement, but I figured it was a reasonably believable way to have Lombaxes living on Lumos.**

**- _Opening Verse—_ Ecclesiastes 11:8 actually goes on for one more line, but I decided to cut it off where I did because, well... it's just not smart to begin a story with the statement, "Everything to come is meaningless." ^-^**

**Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this! I realize it's far from perfect, and I'm certainly open to constructive criticism, but I don't know how much time I can devote to improving it. I have big plans for this story, so if you like my beginning, please keep reading!**


	2. Coming of Age

**Foreword:**

**I wish I could've updated sooner, but this whole 'coming of age' story arc kinda came to me as an afterthought. ^^' There I was, working on what I had _intended_ to be Chapter 2, and I was getting along quite well with it, thinking I'd be able to post in a timely manner after all... Then I suddenly realized (thanks to ZacAttack) that there needed to be something between that chapter and Chapter 1 to fill the gap between them. The transition was just too abrupt and sudden, and I realized that the story would benefit from a little more character development early on. But I didn't want to just arbitrarily stuff something in that didn't have any bearing on the plot. So, with the help of my little sister (who is practically my co-author for this project), I cobbled together a chapter that carried the essential development I wanted, but wasn't just extra fluff... and then _that_ chapter came out so long I had to split it into two chapters. So chapter 2 is now chapter 4 (or 5, or 6...), the new chapter 2 is now chapters 2 and 3, and chapter 3 is finished but I'm gonna wait a week or so before I post it to give myself a head start on planning for the next few chapters (I just realized there's a whole lot of plot stuff that I still need to work out). o_0**

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"_I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around."_

— _Psalm 3:6_

« ... »

Numbers and equations spun through Kaden's mind as he hurriedly worked on the project before him, holding his wrench in his teeth while his hands were busy fastening a clasp around a stubborn nozzle. The internal temperature needed to be -126 degrees, right? Or was that today's date? He didn't have much time, and the pressure to finish quickly was mixing up his train of thought. _I have to get over there soon, or I'll miss him!_

Once the clasp was in place he took his wrench in hand and used it to tighten the seal. Then he grabbed his contraption and sprinted to the other side of his workshop, leaping over disorganized clutter all the way. He practically threw his project into the vice and spun the crank around to press it securely in place, simultaneously grabbing a welding mask from the bench next to him. Now he took a breath and paused for a moment to settle down. This next part was delicate, and he couldn't afford to speed through it. Slowly and carefully he loosened a small valve near the top of his invention, and held still while it whistled off a steady stream of cold smoke. With his eyes fixed intently on the open valve and his tongue stuck out at an angle, he held up a syringe over the small opening and meticulously allowed a single drop of clear liquid to fall in.

Immediately he snapped back to fast mode, closing the valve tightly with one deft twist of his wrist, and then he picked up a small device off the floor that looked like a flat pad with a digital display and several buttons. His eyes flitted across the screen, hastily reading the numbers that scrolled by, until an ecstatic smile played across his brown-striped cheeks.

"Yes! The chemical reaction is stable!" he exclaimed. "And it didn't blow up this time!"

Kaden flung off his mask and released the successful experiment from the vice. He stuffed it into a backpack sitting open on the bench next to him, which he slung over his shoulders. He dashed outside, where he was greeted by a warm breeze. He smiled happily, taking in a deep, satisfied

breath as his ears whipped about. The wind was on his side today. With a quick tug on his backpack straps to make sure it was securely in place, he activated his hoverboots and blasted off.

The scenery soared past in a reddish-brown blur as Kaden rocketed through the plains and valleys of Lumos's wild frontier. Here, beyond the outskirts of the Lombax settlement where he lived, was the place where he truly felt at home. There was just something about the fresh air, the uneven landscape, and the wide-open space that stretched all the way to the horizon... Being out here where he could go as fast and as far as he wanted without concern for hurting or worrying anyone—made him feel free and strong and _alive_ like nowhere else. Why Alister was so eager to leave this place was beyond him, although he _could_ understand his desire to see new worlds and explore different mysteries—he shared some of _that_ sentiment himself.

After a few minutes of racing forward in an almost straight line, the young Lombax looked up at an approaching stone wall that towered hazardously before him. He leaned his weight to the left to execute a smooth turn and flew along the base of the cliffside until the structure ended, then banked to the right and made a steep dip down into a shaded valley cleaved in half by a wide river. Kaden charged on, savoring the mist that his boots kicked up as he zipped across, his feet hovering mere inches from the surface of the water. As he left the river behind and began to climb the steady incline out of the valley, he suddenly found himself back in the sun. That was his signal to make a slight detour.

He executed a sharp ninety-degree turn and leaned forward as he jetted ahead as fast as he could. His eyes were fixed on a spot dead-ahead where the ground suddenly dropped off into a steep cliff that tapered into a canyon below and came up even with its sister cliff on the other side. The space between them was considerable, as was the fall that waited should one unsuccessfully attempt to bridge the gap. Most wouldn't even consider taking the jump, but such a stunt was too simple to satisfy Kaden.

At maximum speed, with a daring smile and a sparkle in his eyes, he reached the edge of the cliff and jumped. The momentum of his hoverboots carried him high into the air, and at the pinnacle of his upward arc he looked excitedly down at his intended landing spot. As the neighboring cliffside rushed toward him he straightened his body and stretched out his legs.

His trajectory was perfect, and when his feet came in contact with the rocky ground his hoverboots caught his weight and continued to carry him forward like clockwork. Of his own accord, however, he ground to a halt and looked behind him. He saw the patch of disturbed dirt where he'd landed, and a few feet closer to the cliff edge there was a short branch with a piece of cloth attached to the end, sticking out of the earth like a makeshift flag. He smiled victoriously and walked over to it, pulling it from its current place and replanting it beside the blackened crater where he'd touched down a few seconds ago.

"Goodbye, record," he muttered to himself. "I'll see you again tomorrow."

Before long Kaden's journey found him at his destination— a small, semi-circular plot of land almost completely enclosed by rock formations. He and Alister had stumbled upon it one day while hoverbooting and it quickly became a favorite place of theirs to meet. Al had agreed to be there today, and Kaden was banking on that promise as he carefully tiptoed toward the nearest entrance to their little oasis.

Suddenly he jumped out into the open, eagerly shouting, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Then he gasped and dove behind a nearby boulder just in time to avoid a plasma blast that seared through the air right past him. A second later he poked his head cautiously back out and saw Alister standing ten feet away, pointing a blaster at him.

"Holy Gelatonium, you _scared_ me!" the older Lombax exclaimed.

"Me?" Kaden argued in a nervous voice, "_You're_ the one with the gun!"

Alister lowered his weapon and sheepishly muttered, "Sorry, I was practicing my aim. You okay?"

Kaden emerged from his hiding place and walked over to his friend, sarcastically muttering, "I'll need therapy for the next year or two, but I'll be fine."

Alister rolled his eyes with a half-annoyed, half-endearing smile.

"This morning I went to the militia training center and signed up," he said. "I have an initiation exam scheduled for this afternoon."

"Whoa, they don't give you much time to prepare, do they?"

"Actually, they recommended I wait at least a week before taking the exam, but I figure I've been waiting long enough."

"I dunno, Al..." Kaden muttered, "Maybe you _should_ wait."

"This coming from _you?_"Alister scoffed. "How long did it take you to get here?"

Kaden whipped out his watch and proudly stated, "Nine minutes and twenty-eight seconds."

"Is that a new record?"

"No, but I lost ten seconds checking to see if I broke another record— which I _did_, by the way."

Alister eyed Kaden with a snide smile as though to say, 'I rest my case.'

"All right, point taken," Kaden relented. "I'm just saying: there's a difference between hurrying and rushing."

"Yeah, I know." Alister crossed his arms and tilted his head as he asked, "So what's in the backpack?"

Kaden smiled with excitement as he swung the parcel off his back and immediately opened it up to reach inside. "This is your birthday present— Ta-da!"

His hands emerged from inside the bag, proudly presenting a gadget of some sort— or so one would presume... To Alister it looked like a really weird refrigerator magnet attached to a fingerless glove.

"Say hello to the 'Cryobomb Launcher'," Kaden stated proudly. "It's a defensive weapon I designed for forcibly inducing cryosleep."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Alister muttered doubtfully, closing his eyes and waving his hands before him. "You mean if I shoot someone with this thing it'll _freeze_ them?"

"That's correct," Kaden answered with a confident grin. "The design isn't perfect, and I'm sure I could improve it a _lot_ if I put some more work into it, but for now it's a completely adequate weapon. Try it!"

Alister looked dubiously down at the odd piece of equipment. He exhaled anxiously as he took the machine and slipped it over his right hand, surprised at how well it fit.

"All-righty, let's see what you've got," he muttered, and he scanned the area for a suitable target. A few paces to the left he saw a red cactus, and he took aim, coiling his arm and pitching one of Kaden's bombs at his unfortunate victim. When the device struck it broke open with a loud sharp hiss, and the whole plant instantly froze over, within seconds looking like it had been standing in a snowstorm for months.

"Whoa," Alister gasped in amazement.

Kaden crossed his arms and nodded expectantly. "Cool, huh?"

"_Very_ cool," Alister agreed, "...as cliché as that sounds."

"Oh! And before I forget..." Kaden muttered, digging into his backpack once again, "I also have these."

He produced an identical pair of small devices, holding one in each hand. They somewhat resembled watches, each having several buttons as well as a small screen, plus a wrist strap attached to the back.

"I made these communicators for us to stay in touch. I've boosted the signal strength and modified the receiver to cut out 99% of interference, regardless of distance, weather, or dense materials blocking the transmission. They also have a built-in tracking system so that they can always triangulate each other's position, as far as a galaxy apart, and accurate within seven inches."

"What, no radio?" Alister teased.

"No, but I can program the navigator to sing the coordinates, if you want," Kaden retorted.

Alister laughed heartily, then smiled and said with utmost sincerity, "Thanks, Kaden."

"No problem, pal," Kaden replied, returning his friend's smile. "Good luck out there."

"Luck is for people who don't know what they're doing."

"Yeah, well... try not to shoot any innocent civilians, at least."

"Good_bye_, Kaden," Alister drawled loudly with an annoyed roll of his eyes.

Kaden bid farewell with a smile and an honorary salute, and walked away without activating his hoverboots.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

As Alister Azimuth headed toward the militia training center on the afternoon of his seventeenth birthday, the emotion most prevalent in him was excitement. He had been waiting on this day for years— ever since he'd decided as a child that he wanted to join the military— and now it was here. Today he had a chance to reach for his dream, and nothing could discourage him.

Nonetheless, when he arrived at the enormous gray building and stood across from it on the other side of the street, he couldn't help but feel a small surge of apprehension. It wasn't the place's imposing, fortress-like appearance that worried him, or the distinct lack of windows, or the huge bronze memorial plate adorning the wall beside the door, engraved with an extensive list of past members who had died in the line of duty. He had seen all these things earlier that very day... But this morning he'd come to do paperwork and usher in another comparatively short but nonetheless annoying period of waiting. Now it was finally sinking in that his wait was actually _over_. No longer was he sitting on the edge of his patience counting the days until he could answer his calling. His destiny was finally at hand, staring him in the face almost tauntingly, and no one could mess it up except him. The feeling was at once both exhilarating and terrifying.

Taking a deep breath, he crossed the street toward the waiting gates of his future.

Once inside the building he made his way to the front desk, which characteristically looked more like a battlefield than the station of a secretary. For sure there were stacks of paper and clutter of office supplies, but these were vastly outnumbered by war mementos, empty bullet casings, and a few medals scattered about as frivolously as though they were spare change. However, the most intimidating factor by far was the Lombax sitting at the desk. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders, sharp eyes, and a coat of ashen-black fur with silver highlights. He sat sideways in his chair, sharpening a knife against a rock that bore a deep notch along the path of the blade. Alister swallowed as he approached him, repeatedly instructing himself, _Don't let him scare you, don't let him scare you..._

He stopped in front of the desk and stood at attention, loudly and respectfully saying, "Alister Azimuth reporting for initiation exam, sir!"

The Lombax turned a fierce eye on him, then slowly shifted in his seat to face the young recruit before him with an intense expression that made Alister cringe.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked sourly.

Alister was surprised at the question, and in response he could only say, "Sir?"

"You think this is an audition?" the Lombax went on, "That showing up and putting on a good act will increase your chances of being accepted? Don't insult me by trying to mimic military protocol if you haven't even _taken_ the exam yet."

Shocked and humiliated, Alister lowered his head and apologetically muttered, "I'm sorry, sir."

"It's ex-Lieutenant Raiken, to you," he corrected. "Until you've passed the qualifier, you haven't earned the _right_ to call me 'sir'."

Alister swallowed and said, retaining as much dignity as possible, "I understand."

"No, I don't think you do." Raiken rose from his chair and slowly made his way around the desk toward Alister as he went on in a dark, foreboding voice. "A long time ago, when I was still in the formal military, my unit was captured by a terrorist group that believes the galaxy was better off under Cragmite rule than it is now. They hate Lombaxes for liberating them. How's _that_ for gratitude? They killed all of us except me, then sent me back to tell the tale as a scare tactic."

Alister was speechless as the older Lombax stood directly in front of him, towering a full head taller and staring menacingly down into his frightened eyes.

"Just because this is a local militia and not the Lombax Pretorian Guard doesn't mean we aren't risking our lives to be here. We have to deal with wild animals, desert marauders, even random attacks from Agorian battle fleets... You don't have a clue what it's like in this line of work."

Alister was humbled by the veteran's words, but something about the patronizing tone with which he so callously dismissed his ambition emboldened him to speak in his own defense.

"With all due respect, ex-Lieutenant Raiken, my father was in the military," he said in a steady voice, daring to look the other Lombax in the eye. "He died in the line of duty after ten years of service, but not before passing on plenty of stories equally disturbing to the one you just told me... So contrary to what you might think, I do have at least a _clue_ what it's like in this line of work, and I am _not_ afraid to experience it first-hand."

After saying his piece Alister fought to hold his head high, praying that he hadn't just made a terrible mistake. The black Lombax gave a wry smile, leaning back against his desk with loosely crossed arms, and Alister couldn't tell whether this enigmatic gesture meant that he was impressed, or just inwardly mocking him some more.

"Let's see what you've got, then," he said in a low tone. He whipped his tail to the left so that it struck a button on the underside of his desk, and Alister yelped as he suddenly fell through a trap door he hadn't realized was there.

The surprised teenager managed to land on his feet, and when he stood up he found himself in complete darkness for all of a second before several dim red lights ignited nearby to reveal that he was in an enormous room. The expansive space was far from empty, as obstructions he couldn't identify silhouetted his vision in all sorts of shapes and sizes. What looked like metal spikes protruded from the walls, while strange machines hung from the ceiling, and the floor was checkered with crossing lines which he assumed to be seams.

Raiken's muffled, tinny voice issued through the air from an unseen speaker, saying, "Your objective for this exercise is simple: survive. At the end of three minutes your performance will be judged based on how much damage you were able to do— in comparison to how much damage was done to _you_, of course. Begin."

No sooner had his instructions ended than the room erupted into a death course. Machines on the ceiling rained down smoldering chunks of metal. Panels in the floor opened to reveal acid pits, defense turrets, and vicious rotating saw blades. Automated weapons along the wall began firing lasers everywhere, and at least a dozen robot drones poured into view and charged purposefully toward him.

Alister had no time to marvel over the excessiveness of this exercise or the unfairness of his being expected to handle it. He could only remember his drive, and let the strength of it compel him to conquer.

He dashed to the left, narrowly avoiding several well-aimed laser blasts, and made a mad-dash for one of the attacking robots. Zigzagging along a precarious path to avoid its fire, he took a desperate leap and landed on top of the thing, then jumped off it again just as a plasma bolt struck it in the chest, causing it to explode.

Then Alister turned on his heels and made a beeline for the closest defense turret. He had to do a few flips through the air to keep clear of its deadly stream of bullets, but within a few seconds he managed to get behind it. There he bravely grabbed the thing by its head and pulled back as hard as he could. His strength was barely sufficient to angle the turret's line of fire just enough to make it spray ammunition all across the opposing wall and take out several laser cannons.

Now Alister pulled out the blaster he'd been practicing with earlier and shot the turret over which he stood, rendering it harmless. He took quick aim to his right and fired six times, destroying four more of the attack bots. Before he could finish off the rest he was obliged to jump out of the path of a tendril of flame that lashed out at him from nowhere. A glance over his shoulder revealed a newly-spawned fire spinner that was steadily spewing spirals of flame from the gas tube rotating in the center. Alister's peripheral vision picked up several more of these devices popping up like weeds across the floor, and he immediately realized he would have to take care of them quickly, or the heat would sap his strength even if he _could_ avoid getting burned.

Thinking of fire in turn made him think of ice, and he suddenly remembered his birthday gift from his best friend. He flung out his right arm and dispensed a cryobomb at the fire spinner that had nearly killed him. Like an answer to prayer the small spherical device struck the machine, and instantly the center pipe stopped turning and the fires died out as the machine froze solid.

Smiling excitedly, Alister charged back into battle, within the next five seconds launching a string of cryobombs that successfully disabled every fire spinner in the room. Then, with hope rekindled, he set to ravaging the rest of the room's defenses.

Two minutes later, after a few dozen more evasive maneuvers and near-misses, he stood victorious in the middle of the floor, panting as he surveyed the heaps of sparking scrap metal lying devastated all around him. He stayed on his guard, half-expecting another surprise attack to jump out at him, but as the seconds dragged by in silence he realized with speechless amazement that it was over.

He'd done it. He'd _won_.

He smiled with profound accomplishment as he stood tall, drinking in his moment of glory.

Then, with no warning, a line of hidden panels in the wall suddenly opened, forming a ring around the circumference of the room. Before Alister could register what was happening, several dozen guns emerged from inside the wall— each and every one of them trained on _him_.

All the guns fired at once, and suddenly a myriad of colors flashed before his eyes. He felt cold, wet pinpricks all over his body— like a thousand spoonfuls of liquid were simultaneously splattering against his skin. About five seconds later it stopped, the guns retreated back into the wall, and he looked himself over to discover that he was dripping from head to toe in a rainbow of fresh paint.

Just then he heard a metal door slide open, and spun around to see Raiken stroll leisurely into the room, grinning with cruel satisfaction.

"Congratulations, weasel," he greeted patronizingly. "You just got plastered."

Alister panicked, hastily stuttering a string of excuses in broken sentences. Raiken just laughed and calmly assured, "Relax, this is a _good_ thing. No one can actually get _past_ that trap; we just have it there for fun."

"Huh?" Alister muttered in confusion, a stupefied expression managing to show through the pink and green paint slathered all over his face.

"It's what you might call a rite of passage," the black Lombax explained further. "The paint guns don't activate unless you're able to defeat every other defense in the room— which reminds me..."

He held up a holo-recorder and clicked the shutter, causing Alister to blink as a bright flash blinded him for a split second. Then Raiken pulled out a small remote control, pressed a button on it with his thumb, and a deluge of water cascaded down from the ceiling, pouring liberally over Alister's head and instantly (though unpleasantly) washing all the paint out of his fur. The poor shocked recruit coughed and sputtered for a few seconds, his ears pasted to the back of his head and his fur heavy with soaked-up liquid. Raiken just smiled with amusement and turned to walk away, casually calling back to him, "Well, come along then."

Alister entertained a brief hateful glare at the smug Lombax as he walked away, then swallowed his pride and sprinted off in pursuit, trailing wet footprints behind him.

To his surprise, Raiken stopped suddenly in the corridor just outside the training room and turned to face the wall on his left as his holo-recorder churned out a sheet of paper with Alister's picture on it.

"Nice work, rookie," he said with what sounded like sincere approval. "You've earned a place on the 'wall of fame'."

He tacked the picture to an open space on the wall, which Alister now realized was covered with pictures of young male Lombaxes, all wearing the same immediately familiar befuddled expression and coat of multi-colored paint. As annoyed as he had been only seconds ago, now he couldn't help but smile.

Raiken smiled as well, this time with genuine favor rather than snide sarcasm. "Welcome to the team, Mister Azimuth. You're one of the most promising new recruits I've ever seen."

Alister beamed with pure ecstasy at this compliment, instantly forgetting every trace of resentment he'd ever felt for this brash veteran.

"Thank you, ex-Lieutenant Raiken!"

"Don't you _dare_ address your superiors so familiarly, soldier!" Raiken snapped, though his tone seemed almost joking. "From this point on you will address me as 'sir.' Understood?"

Alister resisted the urge to chuckle and instead just smiled as he stood up straight and vehemently replied, "Yes, sir!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- **_**The 'Cryobomb Launcher'—**_** Before anyone makes any comments about this, let me just say right now that I **_**know**_** it's called the Cryo**_**mine**_** and not the Cryo**_**bomb**_**. I changed the name and description on purpose because I imagine that Kaden, despite being a genius, is still a teenager, and thus I think it would've been a bit farfetched for him to have already designed the perfected version of a weapon that's being mass-produced for sale more than twenty years in the future. So instead I gave him a clunkier, more primitive version of the weapon we know he invented, with plans to address his 'new and improved' version later on in the story when he's older.**

**- _Techno-Babble_— I can already tell _this_ one's gonna haunt me for the remainder of the story. *-* Kaden is a Lombax— a _smart_ Lombax. Thus, a clash with techno-babble was unavoidable. I know this is the Ratchet & Clank fandom and technical explanations don't actually have to make perfect sense in strict scientific terms, but I still feel burdened to at least _try_ to make Kaden's mechanical explanations at least _remotely_ plausible. It's a good thing I was raised on Star Trek, because my memories of it will probably save my bacon in this area. :P But if any of you happen to be mechanics or physics-majors or anything, and you notice that my techno-babble is flawed anywhere, feel free to suggest better words for me to use. :)**

**- _Alister's Initiation—_ Back when this scene was just a small part of a much bigger chapter, I was sorely tempted to skip over it altogether. I don't trust myself with writing military stuff, and I felt somewhat clueless as to how a Lombax militia would go about recruiting and evaluating new members. *-* But I felt like this chapter could use some more action, and besides, I need to make sure Alister doesn't get completely eclipsed by Kaden in the early chapters. Even though Kaden is my favorite, I must remember that this story is about _both_ of them... Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the initiation scene... I consulted my brother about fun-yet-somewhat-believable angles for this, and I tried to draw from the various training course scenes that I've seen in Men In Black, Modern Warfare 2, X-Men: Evolution, etc. Still, there's a good chance I've missed something. So if you have any comments/criticisms about that scene (or anything else, for that matter), I'm all ears!**


	3. Kindness and Conviction

**Foreword:**

**I love this chapter. :3 Readers, please keep in mind that it was originally one with the chapter before it, so it takes place on the same day—part of it even at the same _time_. I hope this isn't jarring for anyone since there was gap of almost a year between chapters 1 and 2.**

* * *

"_Love is patient, love is kind."_

— _1 Corinthians 13:4a_

« ... »

When Kaden arrived back at his workshop, he took a good long look at his nearly completed ship. He had found it crashed out in the desert several months ago and leapt at the challenge to get it working again. It took him three weeks to disassemble the thing and bring it back in pieces, and twice as long to put it together again—but that was the easy part. Now he had to face the daunting task of actually fixing the engine. So far he'd met with little success, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet. His pet project had been sitting untouched for too long while he was building that gizmo for Alister, and now it was high time he picked it up from where he'd left off.

With a deep breath and a hopeful sigh, he grabbed his wrench and propped open the left hood to get a look at the ship's engine. Sticking his head inside to blow away the dust turned out to be a mistake, and he instantly reeled back and erupted into a fit of coughing from the cloud that billowed forth. How could so much dirt settle into an engine that was_ covered?_ It hadn't been _that_ long, had it? The engine components must be attracting the dust in the air. Maybe there was a malfunctioning shock absorber generating static or something.

Kaden sighed as he added another chore to his mental checklist, and once again his upper half disappeared into the black hole of his ship's metal innards. He stared carefully at the jumble of pipes and wires before him, and slipped into a state of deep concentration.

"Hi, Kaden."

He jumped, surprised to suddenly hear a voice behind him. His arm slipped, knocking aside the rod that was propping open the hood, which consequently fell and hit him square on the head. Ignoring the pain, he pulled himself out of the ship's jaws and turned around, nervously exclaiming, "N-Nayeli! What are _you_ doing here?"

"I—talked to Alister yesterday," the girl explained hesitantly, making an awkward face. Apparently she was unsure whether to react to his question or his head injury as she stood in the center of the archway leading into his humble workspace. "He said you were working on something and that you could probably use some help if I cared to drop by..."

"He shouldn't have..." Kaden muttered through gritted teeth, a fake smile desperately plastered across his face. _Al, you will pay _dearly_ for this..._

"So, do you need any help?" Nayeli asked with a smile, clasping her hands wistfully behind her back.

"Well, I appreciate the offer," Kaden replied, "but I think I have everything under control."

"It's really no trouble," Nayeli assured with a dismissive shake of her head. "I don't have anything else to do today, and I'm already here."

Kaden swallowed, staring indecisively at the young lady standing a few paces away. She wasn't wearing a dress like she usually did, but was instead clad in work overalls with ripped knees. She had _planned_ on this. She came dressed for the occasion, fully intending to help him. How could he turn her down? For that matter, why did he even _want_ to?

"Well... okay, I guess..." he mumbled hesitantly, "Come on in."

Kaden turned his attention back to the engine before him as Nayeli stepped inside. He didn't _dare_ walk over to greet her properly—he was still too flustered, and bound to humiliate himself if he tried to talk to her now. Hopefully she wouldn't think him a jerk for acting so nonchalant. Although, he had a feeling she was much too good-natured for that.

"So this is your workshop, huh?" she observed as she looked around at the various disassembled gadgets and half-finished projects that littered the floor and workbenches, some of them buried in dozens of tools and bits of scrap metal, leaving no free space between them. Kaden cringed to wonder what she must be thinking. The place looked more like a landfill than a workshop. But this was the life of an aspiring engineer. Workshops weren't meant for entertaining guests—especially lovely female guests on whom one desperately wanted to leave a good impression. Kaden wondered if it was actually possible to die from embarrassment. Apparently not, because he was still alive—albeit his pulse was probably at double the normal speed right now.

"It's incredible!" Nayeli marveled excitedly.

In his surprise, Kaden turned from the ship to look at her, muttering in disbelief, "You think so?"

"Yeah, it really brings back memories," Nayeli added.

"Thanks," Kaden murmured after a moment's pause, his ears angling themselves awkwardly as he wondered what to make of her comment. He decided to change the subject before Nayeli could start asking him about all his inventions, because he really didn't feel like explaining how most of them had failed and he just hadn't bothered taking them out to the scrap pile yet. "Um, Nayeli, could you hand me a plasma injector?"

"Sure." The girl scampered off to the workbench where several toolboxes lay open, spilling their disorganized contents all over the floor and surrounding bench space.

Kaden listened to her dig for a few moments before he called out, "It's the blue thing with the—"

"Found it!" she announced before he could finish, and came running toward him, proudly holding out an instrument that looked like a small water gun.

Kaden couldn't help but take a second to stare in surprise at her, and the tool she held in her hand. It was the correct one, all right, and she smiled warmly as she waited for him to take it. The amber Lombax reached out and grasped the plasma injector, careful not to touch Nayeli's hand as he did so.

"Thanks," he muttered, then turned away to bury his face in the ship's engine.

After a few moments of working while Nayeli patiently stood by, Kaden asked another errand of her. "Now I need a wave modulator."

"Right." The girl returned to the tool pile, and this time Kaden watched her as she fished through the mess, deliberately refraining from describing the sought-after item. Within a minute she'd pulled out another obscure-looking gizmo, and promptly delivered it.

"Here you go," she said as she handed the tool up, and again Kaden took care not to voice his surprise when he reached down and took it from her. There was no doubt about it: Nayeli knew her tools—or knew how to identify them, at least. She hardly seemed like the greasemonkey type, though, and Kaden was puzzled by her uncharacteristic know-how.

For another few minutes he worked inside the engine with the tools Nayeli had fetched, pondering until an idea occurred to him. It might be a bit underhanded, but he decided to do a little experiment to satisfy his curiosity. Once more he emerged from the engine and looked down at Nayeli. "Think you can find me an isometric projector?"

Nayeli nodded and went off a third time. Sure enough, she returned shortly with the exact tool he'd asked for in hand. Kaden smiled as he took the instrument from her hands. She'd been able to find it with no trouble, but failed to notice it was a tool that would _never_ be used in building or repairing a ship. So she knew the tools by name and appearance, but apparently didn't know much about how they were used. Now Kaden was _really_ curious—enough so that he was willing to swallow his nerves and ask.

"How come you know what all these gadgets look like, Nayeli?"

The girl smirked and said, "My dad is an engineer, so I'm used to this kind of thing. I can't understand all the finer technical points the way _he_ does, but I've gotten pretty good at handling grunt work."

"Your father is an engineer?"

She nodded proudly. "Yes, one of the best. He designed a lot of the weapon and armor technology that the military uses."

"Wow..." Kaden muttered, more from surprise than awe. He'd _seen_ the imposing brown Lombax on one or two occasions, but certainly never spoken with him, and truth be told, he wanted to keep it that way. Nayeli might be too innocent and humble to realize he had feelings for her, but there's no way he could hope for such luck with her father, and the last thing he needed was Nayeli's dad sitting his daughter down to have a talk about 'that boy.'

"I know. I'm really proud to be related to him—even though I didn't inherit his mechanical genius," Nayeli affectionately continued. "He's retired now, but he still does lots of tinkering. You kind of remind me of him, Kaden."

For a moment Kaden stood still, and silently prayed that Nayeli couldn't tell he was blushing through the fur on his cheeks. Finally he managed to gather his wits and continue the conversation. "So, how long has your family been living on Lumos?"

"I think we moved here when I was... ten?" Nayeli replied, thoughtfully touching two fingers to her lips. "Papa picked this planet because he was tired of the big city and wanted to live somewhere more peaceful. Of course, 'things can only get so peaceful in a place where Lombaxes gather.' That's what _he_ says, anyway... Hey, are you doing okay in there?"

Kaden noticed that she had interrupted her own train of thought. She must've seen him struggling with the engine— his legs airborne and wriggling around as he tried to get past an annoying barrier in front of him. He imagined he might look like he was being swallowed by the machine he was trying to fix. That imagery actually wouldn't have been too far from _his_ perspective on the situation.

He wriggled his way out of the ship's jaws and sighed with annoyance as he explained, "I'm trying to connect this plasma conduit to the auxiliary thrusters, but I can't reach the stupid plug!"

"Let me see," said Nayeli, and before Kaden could object she had rushed to his side and was peering down into the ship's engine, oblivious to how awkward he felt standing so close to her.

"I can see the plug," she stated, "It's right behind the helm console inside the ship. If you open the panel, I can crawl inside, and then you can feed me the cord from here and I can connect it for you."

"Are you sure? It's messy down there... you'll get your fur all greasy."

"I don't mind," Nayeli assured. "That just comes with the territory, right?"

At first Kaden just stood there, speechless and expressionless, but before long an impressed smile permeated his face. "Okay, then. Let's do it."

It took a few minutes to set up Nayeli's plan, but once the front panel of the helm was removed, it was just a matter of getting in position. While Nayeli crawled into the hole leading _under_ the ship's engine, Kaden returned to his place hovering _over_ it, and when he looked down past all the coils and rusty springs, he saw her face looking up at him. She managed to wave from the cramped little space where she was lying on her back, and softly muttered, "I'm ready."

"Okay, here it comes." Kaden slowly fed the cord down to her, and stopped when he felt the resistance that meant she had grabbed the end. Then he had nothing to do but wait for her to finish the job.

"What made you think to do this?" he asked, half out of curiosity and half just to avoid any long awkward silences.

Nayeli's answer was simple. "My Dad ran into a similar problem with a ship once. This was actually _his_ idea."

"He sounds like a really smart guy," Kaden murmured.

"He is," Nayeli affirmed with a smile, "I take more after my mom, though. She's pretty quiet, and can't tell up from down when it comes to technology. I still wonder how she and my dad ended up getting married. I'm not as mechanically challenged as she is, but since I still can't even come _close_ to keeping up with Papa, I pretty much just follow in my mother's footsteps. She teaches me how to do all these homey domestic things, like cook and sew, and Papa always comments on how obsolete those skills are in this day and age, and then the two of them get into the funniest arguments! It's the one time I can never take them seriously..." Nayeli burst into giggles as she struggled out these last few sentences, but Kaden couldn't bring himself to laugh with her. For some reason, he suddenly felt a little sad.

"So, what's _your_ family like, Kaden?" Nayeli casually asked.

Kaden hesitated for a long moment before he replied. "Well... the truth is, I don't—_have_ much of a family. I don't live with my parents—don't even know where they are, to be perfectly honest... and I haven't seen either of them in a long time."

Nayeli stopped what she was doing, looking up at him with a gasp. "Oh, that's terrible!"

"Not really..." Kaden said, going on in a somber but detached tone. "It's not like they abandoned me or I ran away or anything dramatic like that... We just—I don't know, drifted apart somehow. And since I was able to get along on my own, there wasn't any tension... I'm not exactly sure _how_ it happened... Maybe we all just sort of mutually decided that we'd be better off without each other... and I think we were right."

Nayeli stared sympathetically up at him, her soft, beautiful eyes glazing over. "I'm so sorry to hear that... I can't imagine living without my family..."

"Yeah, well... you've got a great family..." Kaden trailed off, and turned his head to break eye contact before adding, "I'm happy for you..."

Hours later, when evening set in and the sky began to darken, it was time for Nayeli to go home. She sighed and wiped her forearm across her brow, smiling with accomplishment as she looked up at the ship. By now they were both covered in sweat and grease, both tired from a long day's work and ready to get some rest.

While she was staring at the ship, Kaden was staring at Nayeli. He'd never seen her like this before. Normally she looked so clean and presentable, wearing a light summery dress, perhaps with a flower tucked behind her ear. Now she looked like a regular mess, wearing torn, grease-stained overalls with smudges of oil slicked all over her cream-white fur. Somehow, though... Kaden thought she looked even _more_ beautiful this way.

"Thanks for all your help," he said, turning shyly away.

"Don't mention it," Nayeli replied. "It was fun."

She waved goodbye, and Kaden watched her with meek, adoring eyes as she trotted off into the sunset.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister exhaled with deep, joyous relief as he looked up at the first stars of evening, leaning back against his arms in the center of his oasis. He felt like everything in his life was lining up in his favor, for once. All his hard work and determination was about to pay off.

Suddenly an out-of-place noise interrupted the silence, and he smiled coyly when he recognized the sound of brazen footsteps stomping angrily toward him.

"So, how did it go?" he asked as he turned around to face his visitor. Without warning Kaden charged him, tackling him to the ground before he could brace himself.

"What's your problem?!" the irate Lombax shouted. "Why would you _do_ that to me?!"

"Because I know you're hopeless on your own," Alister replied with an impish chuckle, flipping his friend over in retaliation. The two of them proceeded to argue while they wrestled on the ground, their speech peppered by frequent pauses and grunts of exertion.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase—'mind your own business'?" Kaden grumbled, trying to get his friend in a headlock.

Alister slipped around his grip to get behind him, where he reached under his arms and pinned them back as he retorted, "Since when is _your_ business not _my_ business?"

"Since you started getting involved in _my_—love life!" Kaden snapped his head back as hard as he could, smashing Alister's face with the back of his head, and the older Lombax released his arms. They tussled for another few seconds until they'd wrestled themselves into an awkward knot, with Alister's knees being held at bay by Kaden's hands and Kaden's foot planted firmly against Alister's chin.

"What love life?" Alister muttered in a gritty voice, unable to open his mouth all the way. "You can't even look your girl in the eyes!"

"She's _not_ my girl!" Kaden snapped, trying to kick himself loose.

"And who's fault is that?—OWWW!"

Alister yelped as Kaden mercilessly tugged on his right ear, and the battle resumed.

"You know," Alister muttered after dodging an attempt by Kaden to kick him in the face, "I could reasonably take offense to this—you showing up out of nowhere on my birthday and attacking me... You didn't even ask how _my_ day went."

Just then Kaden managed to get on top of his friend, and wasted no time in grabbing his wrists and holding them against his back as he lay face-down on the floor.

"What's _that_ got to do with _this?_" he bellowed, struggling to keep his opponent's arms immobilized.

"Well," Alister grunted, straining against Kaden's grip, "the head of the militia said that I'm one of the most—promising new recruits he's ever seen. They accepted me without even—bothering to review my performance on the qualifier."

"So?"

"_So_..." he craned his head as far as he could to the left, grinning smugly as he glanced askance at Kaden. "Do you still think you can beat me?"

With a swift, sudden jerk of his hands, Alister broke loose from Kaden's grip and flipped over, knocking the smaller Lombax aside. He came at him immediately for another tackle, and the two friends tumbled around the ground once again, kicking up dust left and right while Kaden yelled, "I don't _need_ to beat you... I just need to—break your jaw so you can't—talk anymore!"

At last they stopped wrestling and collapsed on the ground side-by-side, breathing heavily and staring up at the violet-blue sky.

After a moment Alister turned his head to look at his exasperated, breathless friend and said, "Feel better now?"

"A little..." Kaden muttered. "You bleeding anywhere?"

"No, I'm okay. You?"

"Nope."

"Oh, good."

They panted in relative quiet for another few seconds before Kaden grudgingly added, "I'm still mad at you, though."

"Oh, come on, you know you loved it," Alister argued. "Don't act like you're so upset."

"I _am_ upset!" Kaden exclaimed, meeting Alister's eyes with a furious glint in his own. "I thought I was gonna die!"

"Kaden, she's a girl, not a War Grok. Where's your sense of pride?"

Kaden pursed his lips and huffed with annoyance as he sat up. Alister followed suit, crossing his arms over his propped-up knees.

"Anyway, you still haven't answered my question," he pointed out. "How _was_ it?"

Kaden turned away so that Alister couldn't see his face and scarcely whispered, "It was... nice."

Alister grinned with pleasure, but resisted the urge to say 'I told you so,' and instead contented himself to say, "Did you ask her out?"

"Of course not!" Kaden exclaimed, turning to scowl at his nosy friend yet again.

"Oh, for crying out—Kaden! What's _wrong_ with you?!" Alister scolded.

"Would you cut it out!" Kaden snapped back at him, wearing a serious frown. "Look, even if she said yes, there's no way I could make her any happier than she already is..." He rested his head on his arms, his eyes closing halfway in sad resignation. "So why bother?"

Alister gazed with compassion at his dejected friend for a quiet moment, then comfortingly said, "You don't give yourself enough credit, Kade... That girl could date every guy in the galaxy and never meet anyone who adores her _half_ as much as _you_ do."

Kaden scoffed doubtfully. "Yeah, right... Who _doesn't_ adore Nayeli?"

Alister shrugged and casually stated, "_I_ don't."

"Well, that's because you're stupid," Kaden said flatly.

"Aw, that's _low,_" Alister muttered with a chuckle. "Come on, I'm just trying to—" He stopped in mid-sentence when he looked at Kaden and saw his face. It was mostly the same downhearted countenance of a moment ago, except that now it seemed more... forlorn. His eyes were sad and solid, like he'd made a final decision from which he wouldn't be swayed— but one that hurt him. Alister eyed his companion with an awed expression that was somewhere between admiration and pity, and softly muttered, "Whoa... I thought this might just be a stubborn crush, but... you're seriously in love with her, aren't you?"

Kaden said nothing at first, his dismal expression unchanging. After a short while he took a deep breath and sighed despondently. "It doesn't matter. She's not looking for that kind of relationship right now; she doesn't _need_ one... She doesn't need me."

Alister stared sympathetically at his best friend, making no effort to speak. Poor Kaden... To think that a thrill-seeking teenager like him harbored such pure and gentle affections for a girl with whom he had absolutely nothing in common. It didn't make sense— but then, matters of the heart rarely do. He wanted to say something comforting, to make Kaden feel better, but he had no words.

At long last he stood to his feet and reached a beckoning hand down to his friend. "Come on, let's go home."

Kaden grabbed his hand with a sigh and Alister pulled him to his feet, then led the way as the two slowly made their way back to the settlement. After a few minutes of walking on in silence, Kaden softly murmured, "Hey, Al?"

"Yeah?" Alister replied, ready to offer encouragement.

Kaden hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why are the back of your ears _pink?_"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**When I'm writing a story, I love finding songs with lyrics that describe the characters and their inner feelings and struggles... I think I may just have to mention one or two of them in my notes, but there's no need for you readers to drop everything and go listen to them if you don't want to. ;)**

**- _Theme Song: "You and Me" by Lifehouse_— I think this song captures Kaden's feelings for Nayeli pretty well. :3**

**- **_**Kaden's Family**_**— Originally I had hoped I could sneak my way through this story without even **_**mentioning**_** Kaden's parents... I really didn't want to have to deal with them in the early chapters where Kaden is still a teenager, but I didn't want to make him an orphan, either (that would open a whole **_**other**_** can of worms I didn't want to deal with). Alas, I wasn't able to escape the inevitable need to address such an important aspect of his character. I finally gave in and decided to work out Kaden's family situation. However, with my former feelings still standing, I chose to do this in a very roundabout way. Hopefully what I've provided is enough to deepen Kaden's bond with Nayeli and explain why he's so recklessly independent, but my biggest ulterior motive was to leave his mom and dad in a dark corner of oblivion from which I am never obliged to move them. (Obviously I have no ****current plans to do anything further with Kaden's folks... but who knows? That could change. ;P)**


	4. The Light of a Falling Star

**Foreword:**

**One day in the course of my net wandering, I stumbled upon the meaning of the name Kaden: 'companion'. O.O I immediately looked up the name Alister and turned up 'defender,' or 'warrior'... I can't help but suspect that the Insomniac staff was aware of this. ^-^ Maybe I'm imagining it, but I feel like this little discovery has added an extra dimension to how I imagine Kaden and Alister's characters, and as I approach the part of the story where things start heating up, the growth of the characters and what they mean to me is an important thing for me to be aware of.**

* * *

"_Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."_

— _Matthew 5:4_

« ... »

With ears pointing back at high alert and fur caked with grease, Kaden sat stone-still in the pilot's seat of his ship. His contemplative gaze remained fixed on the controls before him, stern and unmoving, for a full, silent minute. At last he drew in a deep breath, and crossed the fingers on his left hand as he flipped the ignition switch with his right.

In response he was greeted by the glorious sound of the ship's engine humming to life, and the shock on his face changed into a smile that gradually broadened as the indicator lamps on the status screen blinked green one by one.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, thrusting his fists over his head in a triumphant cheer. "I did it! It's working!"

Suddenly the communicator on his wrist beeped, and he immediately pressed the answer button, eager to brag about his achievement.

"Hey, Al! Guess what? I finished the ship!"

"That's great, Kaden," Alister said, but he didn't sound at all enthusiastic. In an equally dismal tone he added, "That's what I was calling about, actually..."

"About the ship?"

"Yeah..." Alister paused for a moment before muttering, "Can I borrow it for a while?"

Kaden stifled a gasp, surprised—and worried—that Alister would make such a request. Sure, it was normal for the two of them to address each other boldly and rudely without thinking anything of it, but he couldn't imagine his best friend would ask a favor of this magnitude if there wasn't a good reason... and judging by his low, depressed tone of voice, there _was_ a good reason.

"Uh—Why? What's going on?" he asked.

It took a long time for Alister to muster up a short, simple answer: "It's my Mom..."

Kaden's eyes opened wider, and a concerned breath escaped his lungs. No further details were necessary. He recognized his friend's meaning in a single, pained heartbeat.

"Come on by," he said. "I'll have the ship ready for launch by the time you get here. Over and out."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister took his time getting to Kaden's workshop— didn't even bother putting on his hoverboots. He was in no hurry to face what was ahead, and caved to a subconscious desire to put it off as long as possible. However, going slowly presented its own hardship: it gave him lots of time to think about his reason for visiting his friend on this bleak, accursed day, and think about it he did. He thought about his mother, and wondered if she was thinking about him... but he was afraid to wonder _what_ she might be thinking about him.

When the familiar shabby, makeshift structure had just barely come into view, Kaden appeared in the distance, running toward him.

"How're you doing?" he asked, stopping right in front of his visitor.

"Fine, I guess..." Alister replied, his tone as gray as his fur.

Kaden watched him for a brief moment before saying, "Which means you're pretty much falling apart, right?"

Alister looked up and locked eyes with Kaden—touched, though hardly surprised. Kaden knew him almost better than he knew himself, and he was wise far beyond his years—a combination that meant Alister could never hide anything substantial from him. With Kaden it was as if his thoughts were perpetually written all over his face.

The younger Lombax held his gaze with a soft, steady expression that Alister could tell meant 'Don't lie to me.' So he sighed in surrender and hesitantly explained, "I heard from the hospital in Fastoon spaceport today. They said that my mother isn't going to last much longer and that she—wants to see me."

"That's not surprising," said Kaden.

"Yeah, I _know_..." Alister snapped irritably, then softened once more. "It's just that... I haven't seen her since Dad died, and I—"

"Alister, what happened wasn't your fault! Your mom just got sick, and it was _her_ choice to leave you here and move to Fastoon. If she had been concerned about being near you, she should've taken you with her."

Kaden stopped abruptly and swallowed, trying to keep resentment from creeping into his voice, and Alister realized with mild surprise that this issue was affecting him as well. Oh, yes... Kaden knew how it felt to be abandoned, and he tried so hard not to let his feelings toward his own parents color his impression of Alister's. Their situations were completely different, but the end result was the same: they'd both been left alone. Alister had to remind himself that his friend didn't just offer empty condolences; Kaden _could_ relate, at least on some level, to what he was feeling. He shouldn't be so quick to dismiss what he said.

"I guess you're right," he muttered, trying to sound convinced. He failed, of course, and was glad that Kaden was willing to let the topic slide.

The two silently made their way back to the workshop, and for the first time since Alister could remember, Kaden politely ushered him inside. Despite his bleak mood, he couldn't help but marvel for a moment when he saw the completed ship. It had not yet been painted or polished, so it wasn't exactly 'pretty' just yet, but the change since Alister had last seen it was nonetheless obvious. Most of the cracks and dents on the hull had been repaired, and the left tail fins (which had been missing from the start) had been replaced. And that was just the cosmetic stuff. Alister felt a headache coming on just _thinking_ about how much work must've gone into the engine and internal circuitry.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Kaden," he murmured in awe.

"Don't mention it. This is important."

Alister smiled at his friend and said, "So... run me through the controls real quick."

"Nice try," said Kaden, raising an eyebrow and folding his arms. "I said you could _borrow_ the ship, not _fly_ it..."

Alister stared at him in confusion for a brief moment. "But... how can—?"

"I'm coming with you."

"Oh, Kaden, you don't have to do that."

"Actually, I do. You're forgetting that this ship hasn't had an actual test flight yet. If it's going all the way to another planet, I need to be there in case a technical problem comes up."

"I _helped_ you rebuild it, you know. I may not be a mechanical _genius_ like you, but I'm sure I can at least handle a bit of engine trouble."

"Listen, pal," Kaden fumed, rudely pointing his right index finger at Alister. "I spent almost a _year_ working on this ship; I'm not just gonna let you fly off with it while I sit here hoping I'll get it back in one piece..." He paused to take a vehement breath, then insisted, "So, like it or not, I'm coming."

Alister was surprised as he met the stubborn eyes of his best friend, but it only took a moment for him to recognize the true intent behind his callous facade. A grateful smile crept up the corners of his face as he inwardly laughed at Kaden's childish, transparent pretense, and he felt warmer and lighter, just knowing that he had a friend so determined to be there for him.

"All right, then," he said, and the two young Lombaxes climbed solemnly into the ship's cockpit.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

"Kaden, SLOW DOWN!" Alister shouted, clinging to the edges of his seat while the ship rocketed forward, lurching to and fro at the reckless command of its underage pilot.

Kaden showed no signs of easing up on the control stick as he turned to his friend wearing a disappointed frown and sternly argued, "Your Mom is on her deathbed and you want me to slow down?!"

"I don't want to die _before_ her!" Alister exclaimed.

"Oh, _that's_ a real caring thing to say."

"Shut up and watch where you're going!"

"Would you calm down? We're in space; what could I possibly hit?"

"ASTEROID!"

Kaden punched forward on the controls and the ship took a steep dip while a giant space rock rolled right over them. Alister cringed in fear as the bulkheads quivered from the near-contact. That was too close.

"I've got this," Kaden assured, completely unfazed. "Quit screaming like a little girl and relax."

"Okay, that's it! _I'm_ driving!"

"I don't think so, _Alice._ It's _my_ ship."

"Well, _Katie_, you're not even licensed to _fly_ a ship."

"Neither are _you_."

"At least I'm _old enough_ to get lic—WHOA!"

Alister reeled back in his seat as a Basilisk Leviathan cruised into view dead ahead. All he saw of the creature was its cold reptilian eyes flying open in surprise before it collided with the ship, exploding into a spray of purplish guts that splattered all over the domed windshield overhead.

The two teenagers sat dumbstruck in their seats, both gaping in disbelief at the mess before them, which had reduced visibility to zero. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Kaden raised up a pointed finger and calmly said, "Okay, in my defense, that thing came right out of my blind spot."

"Stop the ship! STOP THE SHIP!"

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Normally no one would have thought anything of a small, well-weathered ship pulling into the Fastoon spaceport, but when one such vessel landed sporting a fresh, thick coat of alien slime, naturally a few heads turned. Nearby spectators watched in curious confusion as the domed top opened, dripping purple ooze, and a young amber Lombax with brown stripes hopped out of the cockpit and sprinted off, calling behind him, "Let's go, Al!"

Another teenager emerged, much more slowly than the first, grabbing onto the ship for support and moaning from obvious motion sickness. He looked up at the bewildered facial expressions scrutinizing him from all around, and grumbled in a loud voice as he climbed dizzily out of the ship, "I am _never_ getting in the same vehicle with _him_ again..."

Without waiting for Alister, Kaden dashed into an elevator and said, "hospital wing." The doors closed, and a few moments later reopened to a foyer lined with chairs and benches where patients were waiting to be called forward. Kaden rushed inside, cutting through the center of the room straight to the reception desk.

"I'm looking for Estelle Azimuth," he stated urgently.

The receptionist gave him a somewhat surprised look, but nonetheless answered, "She's in room D57, but—"

"Great, thanks!"

Kaden spun around just in time to see the elevator he'd just come from open again, and Alister stagger out of it, huffing in exasperation, "Would it kill you to wait ten sec—?"

"I know where she is! Come on!"

The gung-ho teenager grabbed poor Alister's wrist and dragged him off, heedless of his shouts of protest, or the receptionist calling after them, "Wait! She has a restricted visitor list!"

When the two young Lombaxes arrived at the specified room, stillness and silence at last settled upon them. Neither ventured to speak for the first minute or two as they just stared at the closed door and the sign hanging beside it that read: 'D57 – Estelle Azimuth.'

Kaden stepped forward to look at the smaller print below the name, then turned to his friend and said, "Check this out, Al."

Alister swallowed nervously and stepped forward. The thing Kaden indicated was his mother's list of allowed visitors. Only one name was written—his. Alister was seized by a feeling of guilty dread, and he took a step back from the door.

"I'm not sure if I can do this, Kaden..."

"It's too late to back out now, pal," Kaden said in a soft voice.

"I just—don't know what I'll say to her," Alister muttered, drawing sharp, uneven breaths as he turned his eyes away from his friend and the door he dreaded to go through.

"Don't worry about what you'll say," Kaden suggested. "She's the one who wants to see _you_, remember? If you don't have anything to tell her, then just let her do the talking."

Alister took a deep breath and exhaled, closing his eyes. "Okay..." He looked at Kaden with wavering resolve and asked, "Will you come in with me?"

Kaden smiled halfway and said, "Sorry, Al. I'm not on the guest list." He looked at the door and somberly added, "Besides... I have a feeling I wouldn't be welcome."

He stepped aside, ushering his friend toward the dreaded door. Alister bit his lip, and moved slowly to rest his hand on the doorknob. He looked once more at Kaden, who offered a reassuring smile, and then held his breath as he turned the knob, and gingerly pushed the door open.

The hospital room was dark and dreary, except for the dim glow of a desk lamp that cast a bluish light over the adjacent bed. Alister felt like his whole body went cold when he saw the frail figure tucked under the covers, as still and silent as though she were already dead. She stared up at the dark ceiling, taking deep, infrequent breaths. Her haggard constitution made her look about ten years older than she actually was, and her chestnut fur was thinning badly. When she noticed the light streaming into the room from the open door she laboriously turned her head so that her piercing gaze fell on Alister.

"Genamar?" she murmured in a frail whisper of a voice. "Is that you?"

Alister choked back a sob and said, "No, Mother, it's me... Alister."

The old woman heaved a long sigh of relief and said, "Oh, good... If it was my Genamar, that would mean I went and died and missed my chance to see my son again..."

Alister heaved a sigh of his own and paced forward until he was standing at his mother's bedside, looking down at her withered form as she smiled up at him.

"Now, then," she said. "What have you been up to lately, hmm?"

"Well..." Alister muttered, "I joined the militia on Lumos."

"Did you, now? When?"

"About three months ago, as soon as I turned seventeen."

"That's wonderful, dear... What's it like?"'

"Painful." Alister managed a smile as he went on. "My trainer, ex-Lieutenant Raiken, has this philosophy that 'pain is good, and extreme pain is extremely good'."

"Sounds like he and your father would've gotten along..." his mother murmured with a smile, lacking the energy to chuckle as she apparently wanted.

Alister found himself tongue-tied at the sight of her speaking so kindly to him in her weakened state. He fell to his knees at her bedside and moaned, "I'm so sorry, Mom... Sorry I wasn't here for you all these years."

"Alister, you don't need to—"

"But I should've—!"

"Don't interrupt your mother when she's speaking, young man!" the woman snapped, summoning more pluck than one would've thought she had left. Then she fell back against her pillow with an exhausted sigh and said, "I taught you better than that..."

Chastened by his mother's words, Alister held his tongue and waited for her to speak.

After a moment of lying there silently with her eyes closed, she turned once more to her child and said, "Listen, son... Before it's too late, I want to tell you a story I wish I'd told you long ago..." From that moment on, Estelle breathed deep deliberate between her slow, carefully worded sentences, so as to maintain enough strength to continue.

"Parts of it you already know," she began. "I've always had a fragile constitution. As a child I got sick so frequently and remained as such so extensively that doctors didn't expect me to live through my teenage years... I beat those odds, but I promised myself I'd never marry, because I didn't want to bring children into the world who would be weak and frail, and who would have to suffer all their lives as I did...

"Then I met your father. He was so strong, so vigorous, so full of life... I admired, and envied him. Why couldn't _I_ be like that, I wondered? Why couldn't _I_ be strong? But he believed I _was_. He liked me because I understood what it felt like to live in constant struggle, always battling a more powerful force with no option to give up. As a soldier living through the darkest days of the Great War, that understanding was something he valued greatly... So, over all the beautiful, energetic young girls he could've easily won over, he chose me... And _I_ chose to break my promise. My children would be all right if _he_ was their father, I told myself... And I was right..."

Alister felt a tear wash a path down the fur on his cheek as his mother continued, with a sparkle in her indigo eyes.

"You're like your father, Alister— strong, and courageous, and caring. That is why I gave you a name that means 'warrior.' You instill strength in those weaker than you, just like Genamar instilled strength in me. My health improved after we were married, and I was able to be a decent mother to you when your father was called away to war... But it all fell apart when he died. My strength waned, my vitality failed me, and I started getting sick again... You remember, don't you? You were only about twelve years old at the time, so I just told you I was heartsick, but that was only half of the truth... It was apparent to me that I would not be getting better this time... But I couldn't let myself follow my dear husband so soon. I couldn't leave my only child all alone. I resolved to stay alive—for your sake, my son—but I didn't want you to waste your precious youth watching me wither away. That is why I left you on Lumos and came here. As long as I was alive, I could give my consent for you to live alone, and you could grow and mature without dead weight like me holding you back..."

Suddenly she paused to exhale a long, dismal breath. Her smile collapsed, and the shine disappeared from her eyes. "No matter my intentions, however," she said sadly, "no matter how I try to justify what I did—I can't deny the fact that I abandoned you... So you see, it is _I_ who should be asking _your_ forgiveness."

Her smile returned as she met her son's eyes once more. "You turned out all right, though, didn't you? And now that you're all grown up, I don't have to worry anymore... I can go in peace, knowing that my son is a warrior who can handle anything life throws at him."

Alister's voice wavered as he tried to form words, tears now falling freely from his woeful eyes. Ultimately all he could bring himself to say as he squeezed Estelle's left hand in both of his own was, "Mother..."

"Alister..." she whispered, looking weaker and more tired with every passing second. "No matter what everyone around you says, always do what you believe is right."

"I will, Mom..." her son promised.

A frail, hopeful smile slowly climbed across Estelle Azimuth's face as she drew one final breath to say, "Goodbye... Alister..."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister stepped out of the room with his head hanging low, desperately trying to hold back his tears. His mother's final words of blessing and encouragement might as well have been curses and condemnation for the amount of guilt they made him feel. No matter how many times he reminded himself of everyone's assurance that none of this was his fault, he couldn't help but blame himself. Somehow, he could've—_should've_—done _something_, a horrible, nagging voice persistently whispered in his mind, leaving him with the loathsome certainty that he was a failure as a son _and_ as a warrior... But those sinking feelings of worthlessness and insufficiency only served to redouble his determination to become stronger.

He looked to his right and saw Kaden sitting on a bench, fidgeting anxiously. When he noticed his friend emerging from the doorway he shot to his feet and shuffled over to him with poorly concealed haste.

"Is she...?" he asked, neglecting to finish the question. Alister just bit his lip and turned away. Kaden looked up at him, compassion welling up in his soulful green eyes. He reached out to rest a hand on his friend's shoulder, and for Alister that simple gesture expressed more comfort and sympathy than words ever could have.

The trip back home, unlike the trip here, would be a slow and quiet one.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- _Estelle Azimuth—_ With Kaden's parents AWOL and Alister's father established from chapter 1 as KIA, I realized that the only parent I still had to deal with was Alister's mother. Again, I was hoping I could get away with just sort of—_not_ addressing her, sensing she would be in the way if I established a place for her in the story, but once I accepted that it would be irresponsible to ignore half of Al's upbringing, God gave me a sweet little inspiration rush for how I could have my cake and eat it too with his mom, and that inspiration quickly took form as this chapter. My only regret is that it didn't allow for much in the way of excitement, but hopefully Kaden's Ratchet-like piloting skills can fill that void. ^-^ Oh, and in case anyone's curious about the chapter title, 'Estelle' means 'star.' ;)**

**- **_**Theme song: "I Don't Need A Soul" by Relient K**_** — not all the imagery/symbolism in this song fits **_**literally**_**, but I still think the mood and lyrics of it convey the hopeful sadness of losing a loved one who wasn't murdered or claimed by a natural disaster, but who just came to the end of their life span and wasn't even averse to dying. And certainly Alister is feeling at least **_**some**_** of that mixed emotion at the end of this chapter. Obviously since he's an adult and has a firm grip on his own life, he no longer **_**needs**_** his mother... but losing her is painful nonetheless.**


	5. For Better or Worse

**Foreword:**

**I can't believe this used to be chapter 2. o_0 This story has really expanded in my head since I posted the beginning. Lest anyone get confused, this chapter takes place almost a year after the previous chapter, so now Alister is 18 and Kaden is 17... Oh, and Nayeli is 16. ^-^**

* * *

"_Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them."_

— _Ecclesiastes 9:12_

« ... »

Alister stared at the status readout on the computer screen in front of him, his ears sagging from boredom. A few weeks ago, when Kaden had turned seventeen, he'd said that instead of a present he just wanted some help making some 'slight modifications' to his ship. Alister had cringed at the suggestive way he'd said that, half expecting him to tap his fingertips together and let loose a demented laugh. But, feeling that he owed him at least that much, he consented—_after_ getting Kaden's word that these new modifications didn't involve any unstable chemicals or experimental weapons.

"So, remind me again why your ship needs an AI system?" he mumbled. He'd sworn he would never get in a ship with Kaden again, and yet here he was, sitting beside him monitoring energy output while the younger Lombax experimented with the exposed wiring before him. He looked like he was performing open-heart surgery on the ship— which in essence he sort of _was_—and the thought brought back the 'mad scientist' imagery that Alister had found so amusing.

Kaden stopped what he was doing and stared off into the distance. He appeared to be off in his own little world, only present in body as he babbled out his response to Alister's question. "Think about it: the galaxy's already full of _robots_ that have their own personalities and can think for themselves... So, why couldn't we do the same thing with ships? Imagine having a ship you could talk to, and that could reason in an emergency and had the sense to hightail it if you got knocked unconscious or something... I mean, wouldn't that be cool?!"

"But isn't that a bit risky?"

Kaden smiled coyly. "You and your 'risky.' Everything worth doing is at least a _bit_ risky... And anyway, you can relax; I'm not giving her _complete_ free will."

"Her?"

"Yup! Check it out—I've even come up with a name for her."

Kaden pointed with his thumb behind him. Alister climbed out of the cockpit, welcoming the chance to stretch his legs, and circled around to the ship's left wing, where he read aloud the symbols emblazoned on the hull in bright gold.

"'Aphelion...'"

"Whaddaya think?" Kaden asked.

Alister pulled back and looked over the vessel in its entirety as he replied, "Well, I think anything that minimizes the amount of time _you're_ in control of the ship is worth pursuing."

Kaden predictably gave him his signature annoyed eyeroll, and Alister smiled as he waited for a snarky comeback. When his friend failed to deliver one and just returned to the task at hand, Alister added, "Anyway, we've been working on this thing all morning and I have to leave soon, so I think we should call it quits for the day."

"Hang on just a second," Kaden muttered, connecting two wires and fussing with a few of the controls on the panel in front of him. "I think I've almost—"

Suddenly the ship lurched upward, causing the hatch to slam shut with Kaden still inside. Out of nowhere a mechanical female voice spoke with a light accent.

"Error. Error. Where am I? What is my directive? My programming appears to be incomplete..."

Alister gritted his teeth sympathetically as he watched Kaden getting knocked around inside the cockpit while the panicked infant of a ship jerked from side to side. Finally she noticed the presence of a person in the room and held still to face him.

"Oh! Are you the one who built me?" she asked.

"No," Alister replied, pointing to the cockpit. "That would be the little guy in there who—probably has a concussion now."

"Oh, dear..."

The ship settled down onto the ground and opened her hatch, and a discombobulated Kaden came tumbling out. Alister rushed over and helped him to his feet, worriedly asking, "Are you okay, buddy?"

Kaden placed a hand on his head, his eyes meandering about unfocused.

"I do apologize," Aphelion said in her strangely expressive voice. "I didn't realize someone was in there."

The two Lombaxes turned to look at the ship, then Alister glanced at Kaden to see a familiar ecstasy painted all over his face.

"Congratulations, my friend, it looks like your experiment was a success," he said, masking his sincerity with a tone of mild sarcasm. Then he gestured to Kaden while addressing the ship, "Aphelion, meet your maker: Kaden; Lombax—teenage wannabe engineering extraordinaire of Planet Lumos. Cue applause."

Kaden retorted, "Cue sarcasm."

"You're welcome."

"You're annoying."

"You're confusing me..." the ship interjected.

Kaden turned his attention back to his creation and said, "Don't worry, Aphelion... Your AI is new, and I haven't worked out all the bugs yet, but for now I just need to make sure you can process information logically and we'll take it from there."

"Very well. Shall I attempt to calculate pi for you?"

"No, that's okay," Kaden said, touching his chin as he added, "I have something else in mind."

"Fly away, ship, there's still time!" Alister mock-exclaimed.

"I think you've missed your calling, Al; you should've been a comedian," Kaden said dryly. He looked down at his wrist and started pushing buttons on his communicator as he went on. "Okay, Aphelion, I've synched up your hailing frequency with my comm unit so I can call you remotely. I'm gonna head into town to test the range, and when I call you I want you to try and find me... Oh, and try not to hit any people or buildings, okay?"

"Affirmative."

Kaden turned to his friend and asked, "Wanna come, Al?"

"Can't. I have to go to—"

"Oh, right," Kaden recalled, touching his forehead. "Militia meeting."

"It's getting pretty bad out there, Kade," Alister stated, his tone suddenly very serious. "A lot of developed planets are _still_ having trouble forming a stable government, and the constant attacks by raiders and mercenaries isn't helping. Lombax planets seem to be the only ones enjoying any kind of prosperity... and the military is concerned that makes us prime targets for all the desperate characters out there."

"You really think anyone would try to attack one of _our_ planets?"

"Our defenses aren't what they used to be," Alister explained. "With all the damage control we've been having to keep up with, we're spread pretty thin. And besides, some of the more competent thugs out there are actually beginning to amass enough resources and followers to pose a significant threat. I'm not saying we _will_ get attacked— but it's definitely possible."

Kaden held his friend's gaze even after he was finished talking. He said nothing, but his face told Alister all he needed to know.

"I really hope you're wrong," Kaden muttered despondently.

Alister heaved a deep sigh. "You and me both."

He made his way back to the massive archway leading out of the workshop while Kaden followed. The two friends then filed outside and went their separate ways.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden looked around thoughtfully as he wandered up and down the streets of the small but well-developed town he called home. Many of the central buildings stood over a dozen stories tall, and technology was prevalent everywhere. Whichever way one looked Lombaxes jetted around in hovercars, hoverbusses, hoverboots—it was practically unheard of to _walk_ anywhere.

He wandered through the crowded streets for what felt like hours, passing food shops, workshops, and many other sorts of shops, until at last he reached the central plaza. It was quite a sight to behold. Streets branched off at least eight different ways, while overhead traffic webbed out in even _more_ directions, and all this activity orbited the centerpiece: a gigantic fountain spraying liquid in a variety of beautiful patterns as an internal lighting mechanism lit the whole thing up and changed the color of the water every few seconds. Kaden smiled at the sight of it. This was as good a place as any to wait for his ship to come calling.

Suddenly the ground at his feet shook. It felt like something large had made impact nearby, and the sound reminded him of a ship landing—a _big_ ship. Within seconds he heard screaming not far away, and a crowd of Lombaxes appeared around the corner of a nearby building, running down the street in a panic. Kaden's ears retreated behind his head when he saw the cause of the stampede: close on the heels of the fleeing crowd was a band of pirates.

They were strange, grotesque creatures, and Kaden could hardly tell if they were robots, organics, or some unholy fusion of the two. Some of them carried notched swords with curved blades, which they brandished threateningly to clear the path ahead. Others wielded blasters, firing in random directions to prove they meant business. They wasted no time scattering about and breaking into whatever buildings they came across, stuffing bolts and other valuables into the sacks they carried.

Kaden gasped when he heard the loud shriek of a huge engine, and turned around to see another ship approaching. It swept right through the plaza, decimating the central fountain as it made its decent, and a gust of warm air whipped against Kaden's face as the huge machine alighted in the middle of the street not twenty meters away. This one, too, began spewing out pirates who stirred the panicked throng of Lombaxes to scatter even further.

Kaden dashed into a nearby alley, gasping in shock as his recent conversation with Alister returned to the forefront of his mind. He knew his friend was serious, but he never imagined the disaster he warned of might be so close at hand. Flattening himself against a shadowed wall, he opened the communicator box on his wrist.

"Al! Are you there? The city's being attacked!"

"I know, we just got the alert," Alister's voice shouted through the receiver, "The militia is on its way."

"What should I do?"

"This is a material raid. The pirates won't stay long because they don't plan on engaging in heavy combat. So the best thing for civilians to do is stay out of their way."

"Are you telling me to just lay low and wait this out?"

"Talk about trying to restrain the wind... Look, whatever you do, just try not to get killed before I can get to you, okay?"

"Roger that!"

Kaden punched a few buttons on his communicator and shouted into it once more.

"Aphelion! If you can hear me, get over here fast!" He switched the machine off, muttering to himself, "Not _quite_ the field test I had in mind, but—"

Suddenly his ears perked at the frightened scream of a voice he recognized. With a worried gasp he dashed from his hiding place and ran the length of the building, skidding to a halt at its far corner and glancing down the street to the right. Sure enough, there was Nayeli. She was being dragged toward one of the invading ships by a pirate twice her size.

"Let me go!" she screamed, resisting him with all her might but to no avail.

"Hah! She be feisty _and_ pretty," the pirate said in response, eying her with a lusty smile as he added, "Ye'll make a _fine_ cabin maid."

Kaden's blood ran hot, a hateful glare consuming his face as he fixed his eyes on Nayeli and the beast who threatened her. Without a second's hesitation he raced forward, remembering a maneuver that Alister had taught him. He sprang up, used his target's shoulders as a springboard, and vaulted in front of him, grasping his neck with both hands. Kaden held fast as he let all his weight fall forward, and before the surprised pirate knew what was happening his face had been dragged to his feet in one fell swoop. His head smashed against the ground with enough force to render him unconscious.

Kaden pulled himself out from under the corsair's blubbery, unconscious carcass and immediately looked up at Nayeli. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Nayeli gasped in shock, trying to catch her breath.

Kaden cocked his head and saw that several other pirates were already flocking to the defense of their fallen comrade. He reached down to pick up the blaster that Nayeli's would-be captor had dropped, and shot down three approaching raiders. Their bodies struck the ground with sparks of electricity flying off of them.

"Come on, let's go," he said urgently.

"Wait!" Nayeli ran over to where the pirates had fallen while Kaden watched her in nervous confusion. What was she doing? He was surprised to see her kneel beside one of the vanquished pirates and pick up an abandoned gun as he had done a moment ago. She returned to his side with her weapon in hand and said, "Okay."

Kaden smiled and nodded in approval, then took flight away from the pirate ship with Nayeli following close behind. He led her into a secluded alley and the two of them leaned back against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Kaden, what's going on?" Nayeli asked nervously.

"It's a raid," Kaden replied. "The militia is on the way, so we just need to hold out until they get here."

"What should we do?"

"You stay here,"

When Kaden started to leave, Nayeli reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait! Let me come with you."

"No! It's too dangerous."

"I can help! I can _try_, at least... I don't want to just sit here while you go out and fight."

Kaden's pulse quickened a bit, and his arm felt warm where Nayeli was still grasping it. Her pleading eyes fixed stubbornly on his, filled with determination. He'd never be able to say no to her now.

"All right," he reluctantly consented. "But stay close. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Right," she said with a nod, and the two of them cautiously stepped out into the open.

Kaden surveyed the chaos before him, summarizing all the important facts in his head. Remembering how he'd found Nayeli, he reasoned that the best thing they could do was look for pirates who were taking women and children captive, and stop them.

"Cover me," he instructed, and dashed down a nearby street.

Without stopping he fired off a few well-aimed blasts to incapacitate the pirates he saw as he ran, and heard Nayeli doing likewise. She wasn't a very good shot, and usually took several attempts before even grazing her target, but she was there in the thick of it, trying all the same. Kaden smiled in admiration as he pressed on, looking for civilians in need of rescue.

Momentarily he saw a pirate nearby carrying off a young girl who screamed in his grip, struggling in futile desperation. Kaden growled under his breath, seething with a fresh charge of angry disgust. That child couldn't be more than eleven years old.

Heart pounding with righteous indignation, he put a little more strength into his run, and reached the unwitting pirate before he saw him coming. The monstrous creature turned his head just in time to see Kaden shove the barrel of his weapon against his burly left arm and pull the trigger. A freakish, blaring shriek whistled through the air as the robotic limb blew apart, shattering into a thousand metal fragments. The surprised little girl fell to the ground in the absence of the arm that had restrained her, and Kaden snatched her up and backed away.

"Why, you!" the pirate fumed, turning on his attacker, but he was quickly silenced as a flurry of plasma bolts showered his immediate vicinity, two of them striking him in the chest and head. As his massive body crashed to the ground, Kaden looked over at Nayeli to see the girl holding out her gun, finger still poised against the trigger, staring ahead of her in disbelief with her ears wilted on either side of her head.

"Nice work, Nayeli!" Kaden shouted, waving to her as he set down the little girl, who scampered off crying.

"Uh-huh..." Nayeli muttered, not moving from her position.

A series of threatening shouts from nearby jarred the girl from her freeze, and Kaden snapped into action when he realized that several raiders were approaching them. He dashed to her side and grabbed her wrist, dragging her behind him as he ran.

They didn't get far before a trio of blaster-wielding pirates appeared in front of them, blocking their escape. Kaden turned around only to find that the other pirates were closing in on them as well.

"Ye troublemakers'll not be gettin' in our way anymore!" the leader of the brigade thundered.

Kaden gritted his teeth and kept his weapon at the ready, but he knew it was no use. As many as the advancing thugs were, firing now would only expedite their doom. He positioned himself to shield Nayeli as best he could while they drew menacingly nearer. What could they do now?

Suddenly the sound of a blaring engine announced the swift approach of a small ship. It flew dangerously low, and zipped right through the place where the pirates converged, and they scattered in a panic. Kaden and Nayeli had to duck low to avoid getting grazed by the ship's underside as it swept past directly overhead.

"Unhand my pilot, ruffians!" said a familiar voice as the vessel came about for a less aggressive return.

Kaden's face broke into a relieved smile, and he happily shouted, "Aphelion!"

The ship 'turned' to Kaden and matter-of-factly stated, "I was able to find you in precisely three minutes and forty-six seconds. Have I passed your test?"

"You _aced_ the test," Kaden replied. "Now open up quick, before any more of those freaks show up."

"Of course."

Aphelion alighted on the ground and opened her hatch while the two Lombaxes rushed toward her. Kaden leapt into the cockpit first, then reached down to help Nayeli into her seat. Gasping, the girl looked around at the inside of the ship in puzzled surprise as the hatch descended around their heads and the airlock snapped back in place.

"Your ship talks?" she exclaimed in surprise, turning to Kaden who was already grasping the control stick and deftly pecking away at the buttons beside it.

"Yeah, that's new," he answered, and with a sharp downward yank of the steering mechanism, the ship launched back into the air. Nayeli gasped and braced her hands against the panel in front of her when the streets and buildings of the city began zipping in and out of view. Kaden couldn't help but roll his eyes. Her too? Why was everyone he knew so skittish about serious maneuvering in the air? At least she wasn't screaming her head off like Alister would've been.

"All right," he said with subdued excitement. "Now we're in business! Aphelion, arm your weapons."

"Affirmative. Warning: several ships are approaching from the starboard bow. Shall I fire on them?"

Kaden looked worriedly in the direction stated, but then smiled in relief and said, "Absolutely not. That's the militia."

"What does that mean?" the ship asked.

"Pressing a few buttons, Kaden answered, "It means this fight is over. Aphelion, fall into formation with them and mimic their attack strategy."

"Are you sure about this, Kaden?" Nayeli whimpered.

"Nope," Kaden replied.

Moaning, she closed her eyes and sank even further into her seat.

It didn't take long for the militia to crush the raid, and Kaden almost enjoyed the next few minutes in Aphelion's cockpit where pretty much all he had to do was sit back and admire his bird's-eye view of the pirates getting driven out of the city. He watched as the invaders raced to their own ships (the ones that hadn't been destroyed, anyway) and took to the skies with mortal urgency. It was delightful.

One thing he saw that he _didn't_ like, however, was just how widespread the raid really was. He'd only seen it within the radius of a few city blocks, but from where he was now, he could see that it extended much farther. Pirate ships jetted off from all over the city, and there were at least a dozen of them. He wondered how many had Lombaxes onboard— innocent youths like Nayeli who weren't lucky enough to be rescued, and who were now being carried off as spoils of war, to be utilized or bartered however their captors saw fit as though they were nothing but soulless trinkets.

Kaden drew a little comfort from his indirect role in saving a few. Besides Nayeli and the little girl from earlier, several others narrowly avoided abduction due to his intervention as Aphelion swooped down into the ravaged city streets, firing her rudimentary but effective weapons and felling pirates left and right.

When the battle was over and all the raiders had been either killed or chased back into space, Kaden landed Aphelion. He and his high-strung passenger deboarded, and a militia member promptly marched up to him to sternly rebuke—and later thank—him for getting involved. When he was through lecturing, the Lombax joined his compatriots in directing and organizing the panicked civilians. Kaden looked for Alister among them, but he was nowhere to be found. Probably tending to his duties in another part of town, he reasoned, hoping that his friend hadn't been seriously hurt.

Kaden returned to Nayeli, and joined her in sadly surveying the damage to their home. Hovercars lay crashed against poles or traffic dividers every few blocks, and there was hardly a building that wasn't missing a wall or at least a few windows. It was a depressing sight that robbed all the glory from their recent victory.

"I can't believe this happened..." Nayeli murmured distantly.

Kaden sighed in wordless agreement, standing beside her and lamenting the wreckage in like manner.

"Nayeli!" a voice shouted out of nowhere, and a young female Lombax came running, tackling Nayeli with a powerful hug.

"Callista!" Nayeli greeted in surprise, smiling in spite of herself.

"You're okay!" Callista bawled in fervent relief. "I was so worried when I heard about what happened at your house... I assumed that you were—"

"Wait," Nayeli said worriedly, pulling away from the other girl's grip. "What happened at my house?"

Callista looked confused as she stared at her friend. "You mean... you don't know?"

Dread enveloped Nayeli's face, and Kaden's heart sank as the girl's fears manifested clearly in his mind.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The ship landed with the usual warble of the engine as it made its descent, and when the hood opened Nayeli got out in a hurry, dashing off the second her feet touched the ground. Kaden climbed out after her, and stood still for a moment as he watched her run away.

"Stay here, Aphelion," he instructed his ship, and he took off in pursuit of Nayeli before she could disappear from his sight altogether.

When they reached her house Nayeli stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the place with a horrified look in her eyes. The building was a wreck. Almost all of the second story had been practically mowed down, and the foundations were showing in several places. The front yard was littered with debris, and all the remaining windows were broken. Several gaping holes in the wall gave view to the equally horrible damage inside. Kaden gasped at the sight of it. Even for pirates, this amount of destruction seemed unnecessary. It seemed that they had ravaged Nayeli's home... almost out of spite.

Unfortunately, the house wasn't the real tragedy.

The two teenagers had still barely had a few seconds to take in the sight before them when an even more disturbing horror caught their attention.

"You say there were only two people in the house?" asked an unfamiliar voice nearby, and Nayeli immediately took off in the direction from which it had come. Kaden followed her around the side of the house, where they saw a Lombax wearing a nurse's uniform talking to someone who was holding a notebook— probably compiling a casualty report.

"Yes, a married couple," the nurse said. "If anyone else lived here, they weren't at home when the raid happened."

"And they've both been confirmed dead, is that right?"

"More or less. The husband's body hasn't been found, but we suspect he was vaporized, as there have already been multiple deaths confirmed as the work of such a weapon. The wife was found dead in the living room with multiple plasma burns on her chest. Her body is being taken in for examination as we speak."

The nurse morosely pointed off to the right, and Kaden followed Nayeli's gaze in the direction indicated, where they saw an ambulance ship and two Lombaxes somberly loading a covered bed onboard.

Kaden heard a very faint, heartbroken gasp, and turned to look at Nayeli. She was frozen in shock, eyes gaping in aghast disbelief. Her only movement was a small automatic shaking of her head, as she couldn't bring herself to say the words this gesture symbolized. Overwhelmed with sympathy, Kaden couldn't tear his eyes away from her, and the two of them stayed quietly rooted where they were while the ambulance flew away and everyone else present dispersed, too busy to take notice of the two young ones still standing on the property.

Just as Kaden was about to work up the nerve to say something, Nayeli's legs gave out and she fell to the ground on her hands and knees, sobbing grievously.

"I don't understand..." she whimpered through her tears. "They took everything... Why did they kill Mom and Dad, too?"

"Nayeli..."

"They were the only family I had, Kaden..." the girl muttered without looking up. "What am I going to do?"

The desperation in her voice cut into Kaden's very soul. Over the course of less than an hour she had lost everything. Every comfort and security that she once had was suddenly gone, and she was left with nothing. Now she had to face not only her grief at the loss of her entire family, but also her uncertain future as an orphan with no home and no assets. Her plight would have been enough to move Kaden's heart to pity even if she were a total stranger... But since she was no stranger—since she was the girl who had unwittingly captured his dearest affections these last three years—he was moved almost to tears. He burned with a desire to help her, but what could he do?

Out of nowhere, it seemed, a strange idea occurred to him, but when it took form in his mind he almost slapped himself. There was no way—no way he would even _consider_... The timing couldn't be worse, for one thing. Nayeli had just lost her parents, and she was heartbroken. Kaden couldn't imagine a less romantic setting. She was bound to think he was just taking advantage of her when she was most vulnerable, and how could he ever prove to her that he was sincere?

No. It was completely out of the question. End of story. He shook his head, resolved to drop the idea...

Then he looked once more at her face—so beautiful and so sad. Her tears were darkening the dirt between her hands, and her soft, muted cries assailed him like some kind of nerve toxin. He had to do something. He had to at least _offer_ to help her, and if this was the only way... it didn't matter what she thought of him.

Kaden swallowed hard, attempting to banish the fear rising in his chest to the pit of his stomach. He dropped to his knees at Nayeli's side, drawing in a deep, uncertain breath, and timidly murmured, "Nayeli, will you—marry me?"

The girl gasped as she turned to look at him. "Huh? Wh-What did you say?"

"Look, I—I can take care of you," Kaden hastened to explain. He could already feel his chest tightening and his courage beginning to fail him. "I won't expect anything from you, I promise! We don't have to live together, we don't even have to _see_ each other. And it doesn't have to be permanent, either. You turn seventeen next year, right? We can break it off as soon as you're old enough to get along on your own."

Nayeli held his gaze for a long, uncomfortable moment. He felt like he would collapse under her scrutiny, and bit his tongue as he hoped with all his pounding heart that she would believe him.

Finally she spoke, slowly and with abundant pauses. "You would... do that for me? Why? What would _you_ get out of it?"

"I don't have any ulterior motive, I swear!" Kaden exclaimed.

"_Why_, then?" Nayeli asked sternly, raising her voice to match his. "Why would you do that for me?"

"Because..." Kaden felt like he would faint as soon as the words left his mouth. "Because I love you."

Nayeli gasped, her eyes flying open as she shied back. Kaden struggled to hold her gaze as she stared at him in shock, his cheeks burning and his heartbeat pulsing out of control. The moment dragged on in torturous stillness, as though time had stopped, until Kaden was sure he would faint from holding his breath.

"You... You mean it?" Nayeli muttered with difficulty when the silence became unbearable. "You would really _marry_ me, and then let me go a year later if that's what I want?"

"Yes," Kaden answered.

Nayeli exhaled hard, and turned away from him as she stood to her feet and walked a few paces away. Kaden stood up as well, but didn't have the nerve to move from his spot or to say anything. He watched her intently as she stood still with her back to him not two meters away. She was trying to act composed, but he could see that she was shaking.

"Wow..." she muttered in a choked breath. "I never thought _I_ might mean that much to someone..." She turned to face him, not even trying to hide the fresh batch of tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. "But Kaden... I could never take advantage of you like that."

"Nayeli, I don't mind!" Kaden at last worked up the courage to approach her, and placed a hand firmly on her trembling right shoulder. "I just want to protect you."

The girl gasped back a sob and swept several fingers over her cheeks to wipe away the tears.

"Okay," she said, looking into Kaden's eyes with a smile that made him melt. "I'll marry you... on one condition."

"Anything."

"You said it doesn't have to be permanent?"

"Right."

Nayeli reached up and rested her left hand atop his so that they overlapped on her shoulder, then said, "Take that back. I _want_ it to be permanent."

This time it was Kaden's turn to gasp as his eyes flew open in surprise. He searched the girl's face for any sign that she was joking or making fun of him, but saw none. Just new tears falling from her soft, sapphire eyes— only this time they were tears of joy.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

_-** Aphelion— **_**I might be pushing my luck with this one. ^^' When I first came up with the idea to have Kaden's ship be Aphelion, I immediately dismissed it, thinking it would be too big of a coincidence to be believable. But when my little brother came up with the same idea he also came up with a bunch of reasoning to support it and eventually convinced me that this development, coincidental though it is, ****_could_ work... If you disagree, I totally understand, but at least let me assure you that I plan to deal with Aphelion at the end of the story so that it makes sense for Ratchet to end up finding her.**

**- _Nayeli's Predicament— _It was a little awkward to explain this situation through dialogue, so I apologize if the details were too vague. Basically what I was thinking when I conceived this notion was that Nayeli, being suddenly orphaned and technically not yet an adult, would become a ward of the state. I'm sure Lombax laws regarding this sort of thing are different from human laws, but I still imagine she would be stuck in a less-than-ideal situation for a while. Kaden's offer to marry her was built on the assumption that if she got married, she would be free from the system and there would no longer be any need for drama about custody and whatnot. Marriage is the #1 loophole for avoiding all kinds of legal difficulties, and I would assume this is true for Lombaxes as well as humans. ^-^**

**- _Theme Song: "If You Believe Me" by Relient K— _Another song depicting Kaden's feelings for Nayeli, culminating at the moment when he gathers up his courage to ask her to marry him, hoping she'll believe that he really loves her.**


	6. Crossroads

******Foreword:**

******It's weird... I can picture Kaden in my mind pretty easily (for obvious reasons ;P), but I **_**still**_****** have a hard time getting my mind around the image of teenage Alister Azimuth. *_* I think I'm getting better about it, though. ^-^ Anyways, I wish I could've posted this chapter sooner, but I was just having the **_**darnedest**_****** time working out the fight scene, and then my laptop broke, and... Yeah, it's just been one of those weeks. DX But! I finally finished, and here it is. :) Before we get going, though, I have to report some possible future delay on my end. I have **_**big**_****** life changes coming up in the next few weeks that will almost certainly affect my writing schedule. I'm hoping I won't have to put this story on hold (I'll do everything in my power to prevent that!), but don't be surprised if the wait between updates gets longer. Also, I've made some minor edits to the earlier chapters****, but nothing you need to go back and reread for. I'm just making a note, that's all. ;) Okay, everybody—time for Al's perspective on the pirate raid! XD**

* * *

_"Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love."_

— _1 Corinthians 16:13-14_

« ... »

Alister prayed under his breath for Kaden's safety as their conversation abruptly ended. That cocky little daredevil was _bound_ to get himself in _some_ kind of trouble... but his willingness—nay, _eagerness_—to risk his own safety for the sake of strangers was more than admirable. It wouldn't be all that surprising if Kaden actually managed to do some good in the resistance effort—Alister just hoped he wouldn't get himself sliced to ribbons in the process.

Forcing his worry aside, he dashed through the halls of the Militia Training Center. A foreboding urgency infused the air as he and his comrades in arms made their way to the ship hanger, alarms blaring in their ears and periodically bathing the surroundings in a blood-red glow. Alister led the charge of battle-ready Lombaxes as they came streaming into the massive room where rows of identical ships lined the outer walls. A narrow strip of light appeared down the central aisle, widening by the second, and Alister looked up at the high ceiling as it parted, allowing the light of day to stream into the dark.

Raiken was standing in the center of the massive space, near the fleet's largest ship which was positioned separately from all the others. He turned to see his troops charging toward him, and wasted no time in beginning his rushed, minimal briefing.

"All right, ladies, it's time to see if all your training has been worth my time. We're estimating about thirty ships, and several hundred raiders. They're spread out across the Southeastern portion of the settlement, from Central Plaza clear out to the suburbs at the edge of town. Most of them aren't heavily armed, so I don't expect they'll offer heavy resistance, but don't let your guard down. You all know your team and ship assignments, so move out!"

"Yes, sir!" the gathering said in unison, and they immediately dispersed, each rushing to their ships where they began launch sequences with adept speed.

Just as Alister was about to join them, Raiken grasped his arm. "Hold it, Azimuth," he said. "You're coming with me."

Alister repressed a gasp of surprise and gazed up at his commander. The other two high-tier members present looked surprised as well, but they didn't argue. Offering no explanation, Raiken waltzed up the ramp leading into the large ship, and the two other Lombaxes followed. Alister hesitated for a second, doubting his own senses, but then took a deep breath and hurried aboard the the flagship.

When he emerged in the cockpit, Alister scanned for an empty chair and jumped into the first one he saw. He could already feel his muscles tensing, his battle and survival instincts competing for supremacy. Having joined the militia by choice, it was not as though he didn't expect to fight at some point, but what in the world was he doing on the _flagship_ with the core elite? He glanced up at Raiken, who was in the pilot's seat with his second-in-command already prepping the ship for launch in the seat beside him.

"Open a channel to the fleet," Raiken ordered, and his co-pilot obediently punched in the command sequence. Raiken then proceeded to rattle off another string of instructions.

"I want everyone spread out in standard defensive formation. Half of the personnel on each ship will be discharged as infantry while the remaining crew maintains an aerial assault. Pilots, focus on taking out the enemy ships. If they can't get away we might be able to recover some of our losses, and the more casualties they suffer, the less likely they are to try this kind of stunt again."

As he said all this, Raiken expertly guided the control stick of the ship with his left hand while adjusting the speed and altitude dials with his right. Alister watched him in amazement, and swallowed as he gathered his nerve to face the coming battle. Raiken was a seasoned war veteran who'd seen enough action in his lifetime to make this kind of thing routine. Alister was still a relatively new recruit, who had never even been in real combat before. Raiken had more experience being a soldier than Alister had being _alive_. He was grateful to be facing this challenge with such a hardened warrior fighting by his side, but the idea that he was actually going into battle for the first time still made him... uneasy.

Alister looked out the ship's windshield as the the militia fleet rose up through the open ceiling of the hangar and took to the skies. He waited a moment after Raiken stopped speaking to be sure he was finished before daring to voice his concern.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked, trying not to let any apprehension leak into his voice.

"Granted," Raiken replied.

"Why did you bring _me_ with you?"

"Because you're the best this militia has to offer."

Alister stifled a gasp, wondering if he'd heard correctly. "But... I have the least experience out of almost anyone."

"Let me tell you something, Azimuth," the war veteran said in a hard, steady voice. "How good of a soldier you are has nothing to do with your age or your upbringing, and even your training isn't what's most important... The only thing that really matters is how strongly you believe in what you're doing—because everything else hinges on that."

Alister gaped in awed silence, unable to think of anything to say in response to Raiken's empowering statement. Then one of the other Lombaxes in the ship turned to face him with a hard smile and said, "He's right, kid. I sure can fight a heck of a lot better now than I could when I was your age, but I never would've gotten where I am without a whole lot of raw ambition... and you have that in abundance."

In spite of the foreboding danger poisoning the moment, Alister couldn't help but smile at this compliment. Suddenly he didn't feel so out of his element anymore. No longer was he surrounded by his superiors, but his comrades. Lombaxes just like him, who wanted to protect the innocent just like he did... and despite a staggering difference in age and maturity, they had faith in him.

Suddenly Raiken got up out of his seat while the Lombax sitting beside Alister automatically rose to replace him. Alister gulped down his nerves as Raiken looked down at him and asked, "Ready?"

With a determined nod, Alister got on his feet. The ship pulled down near to the ground, and the lower hatch eased ominously open to a view of the street zipping by not two meters away. Alister's heart pounded in his chest as he waited for a signal. What couldn't have been more than a few seconds felt like five minutes.

"Now!" Raiken shouted, and Alister leapt into action in synch with his leader, perfectly executing the 'tuck-and-roll' maneuver that he'd practiced in training simulations until it was instinct. He plunged headfirst through the open hatch as though he were diving underwater, then coiled up his body as he contacted the ground to land in a somersault. Raiken landed beside him, and they both surveyed the surrounding area to assess the situation.

The pirates had arrived just minutes ago and had already done a great deal of damage. Hovercars with holes blasted through their engines were crashing headlong into buildings. Shattered glass was raining down in the streets like hail. Lombaxes scattered in all directions in a frantic effort to flee— some of them hindered by serious injuries—screaming in either fear or pain. Alister's compassion swelled within him, but he forced himself to ignore it. He had to remember that his purpose here was to eliminate the threat, not to tend the hurt.

He looked to his commander for instructions, and Raiken immediately provided them. "Follow me!"

Alister obeyed, and barreled at top speed after Raiken as he led the way through the streets, explaining his plan as he went. "We need to take out the leaders; it'll make the rest panic and lose cohesion as a group, which will make them easier to pick off."

"Yes, sir."

Raiken shortly halted in his tracks, his eyes snapping off to the right. He didn't even need to explain to his partner that he'd singled out their first target. The pirate was _huge_. A bulky mass of gray and brown metal with a boxy head and a gigantic cannon in place of one arm. His other arm extended awkwardly from the shoulder joint in the shape of an arc, where it ended in a strange iron disc that was stamped against the ground like it was meant to anchor the creature in place. Such a notion wouldn't have been all that surprising, either, since the pirate's legs were laughably short, and most certainly too weak to support the rest of his massive frame on their own.

He barked out orders to the pirates around him in mangled nautical slang that no one but another pirate could fully understand. Periodically he fired off a large bomb for no apparent reason and demolished the side of yet another building. Alister felt his anger rising within him as he glared at the spectacle in disgust. A split second later he reached for his holstered weapon and charged ahead, one step behind his superior. The monster pirate turned to see them within the same second that they began firing their blasters.

No effect. The discharge from their weapons dissipated harmlessly against his armor, and the creature's misshapen face contorted into a twisted smile.

"Ye be hungry for punishment, I see," he said. "Have at it, then!"

He leveled his cannon in their direction, and the two Lombaxes bolted out of the way as a bomb almost as big as either of them blasted forth and exploded, leaving an impressive crater where they had stood mere seconds ago.

"Take cover!" Raiken ordered, and they dashed around the corner of the nearest building. There was no time to relax, though, and they remained at high alert.

"What now?" Alister asked.

"Do you have that freeze gadget that you always use in training?"

"Yeah."

"All right, listen: we're gonna go back out there, and when that thing takes aim, I want you to get one of those bombs into his cannon. Leave the rest to me."

Alister swallowed nervously. Did he say _inside_ the cannon? Alister prided himself on being an accurate shot, but target practice in training was a completely different story. Ready or not, however, he had to try. This was a crisis situation, and he couldn't afford to question his capabilities. He nodded in confirmation, and Raiken turned from him to face the direction from which the pirate's derogatory shouts still issued. An explosion sounded nearby and a tremor shook them hard. Alister had to jump out of the way as a huge chunk of the structure sheltering them crumbled loose and came crashing down. He hated to imagine what the other side of the building looked like right now.

"That's our cue," Raiken said, and Alister followed him back into the fray.

Sure enough, as soon as they came around the corner the pirate turned his ugly head to fix his gaze, and once more pointed his enormous weapon at them. Alister steeled his nerves and forced himself to drop the sudden observation that he could probably fit inside that barrel. He kept moving forward just fast enough not to give away his intentions, and waited until he could see straight down the length of the cannon, where another bomb was armed and ready.

Just as a faint yellow glow began rising up in the belly of the beast, Alister pitched hard with his right arm. He shut his eyes and hoped for a miracle as a tiny cryobomb left his hand. If he missed, it was all over. The device seared through the air and announced its landing with a clank and a familiar hiss. A worried look crossed the pirate's face for a split second before his shoulder exploded. The fearsome cannon arm that had moments ago posed such a huge threat fell harmless to the ground, and Alister's face broke into an ecstatic grin.

It was too early to celebrate, however. The pirate was still standing. Wasting no time, Raiken raced toward him and scrambled up his remaining arm. He anticipated the monster's wild thrashing and held tight to the collar-like ring of armor around his neck, all the while wedging his blaster's nose through a crack in the head plating. Alister heard the familiar but muffled sound of the weapon going off at least four times, and immediately the great beast's movement ceased. His cold, still body tumbled forward and clattered to the ground, while Raiken leapt from the back of its head to join his excited partner on the ground.

"Sir, that was—!"

"Save it, Azimuth, there's no time for that now. The raiders are already retreating back to their ships. We have to destroy as many of them as possible before they can escape!"

"Yes, sir!"

Alister saluted his commander, and the two warriors charged back into battle side-by-side.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Once in training, Raiken had told Alister that, "even when it's over, it's not over." Alister had never understood exactly what that meant until now. The raid had lasted about fifteen minutes, but just from looking around one could tell that it would likely take months if not _years_ to repair all the damage. It had taken two solid hours just to calm things down after the fact, and Alister had spent those hours rushing furiously about, doing his part as a member of the militia to aid the people. There were so many immediate needs to be filled—and _so_ many casualties.

Whenever he saw someone limping on a hurt leg or screaming in agony from a deep flesh wound, he bit his lip and tried to draw comfort from the fact that they fared far better than the dozens of Lombaxes who had lost a lot more than a limb in the raid. The sidewalks were lined with lifeless bodies spilling warm blood onto cold pavement, and the air was infused with the smell of charred flesh from victims of the pirates' vaporizing rays. Alister gagged on the breaths that filled his lungs, and gasped in relief when he had to climb into the remains of a collapsed building where it smelled of dust and smoke. His stomach turned over, however, when he reached the children he'd been sent in to rescue and found one of them crushed between two giant chunks of rubble, the other two crying frantically for someone to help him.

When finally things calmed enough and the air cleared enough for Alister to breathe easy, he heaved an exhausted sigh and let his head and shoulders fall limp, resisting the urge to just collapse on the ground in the fetal position. He straightened when he felt a strong hand clap him on the back, and turned to look at Raiken as he came up beside him.

"You did well back there, Azimuth," he said, managing a weak smile. It was obvious, though, that he was just as upset right now as Alister was.

"Thank you, sir," Alister replied, wearing an even weaker smile. Normally he would have been beaming with pride that the hard-nosed, impossible-to-please ex-Lieutenant had actually paid him a direct compliment, and for the second time in one day... but nothing felt good to hear right now. In the wake of such a cruel injustice, all was bleak for both of them.

A familiar chirping sound broke the heavy silence, and suddenly a small device fluttered into view and stopped in front of them, suspended in the air. It was one of those hovering holo-screens that was used to deliver messages. Before Alister had the sense to wonder where it had come from, it announced in a robotic, prerecorded voice, "Message for the current leader of the Lumos settlement's local militia."

"Relay the message," Raiken said automatically, and the blank screen blinked to a crisp image of an orange Lombax in impressive uniform.

"This is General Braxton of the Lombax Pretorian Guard. Report on your—" The officer stopped suddenly and blinked in surprise. "Oh, my... Raiken, is that you?"

The black Lombax stiffened. "It's been a long time," he said after a second's hesitation. "I'm afraid catching up will have to wait, however. Right now we're dealing with the aftermath of the most significant incident to concern Lombax kind since the end of the Great War."

"Indeed," said the officer. "I didn't think any race other than the Agorians would have the gall to attack a Lombax settlement. Next thing you know they'll be trying to pull a raid on bloody Fastoon."

"I don't think there's much danger of something _that_ extreme for quite some time. This raid appears to have been fairly random. However, it _does_ confirm my recent fears that the number of pirates and mercenaries in Polaris is increasing exponentially, and they perceive our inability to keep up with them. If something isn't done, attacks on Lombaxes similar to this one will not only continue, but grow worse."

The General sighed in frustration. "What a mess... The Vullards were _already_ squeamish about allowing us to have a settlement on one of their planets. Decisive military action is definitely in order, Raiken. What do you suggest?"

"At the moment I can only request that you send troops from Fastoon to Lumos to fortify our defenses. We've repelled the pirates, but it's still possible that an unscrupulous third party will try to take advantage of the fact that we're vulnerable at the moment."

The look on General Braxton's face made it painfully obvious that he was averse to this idea, and he heaved another defeated sigh before reluctantly muttering, "Very well. But I have a return request to make of _you_... As I'm sure you know, Fastoon doesn't have many surplus soldiers to send off at the moment. So I'd like you to inquire among your militia, as well as the civilians living in the Lumos settlement, for volunteers to join the formal military and relocate to Fastoon for proper training."

"I'll see to it."

"And Raiken," Braxton quickly interjected, "I don't imagine you're very warm to the idea of rejoining the Guard yourself, but... If there's any chance you'd reconsider, I can have you reinstated at your former rank, and I can even pull some strings to make sure you retain command over any among your current subordinates who join alongside you... The military is in need of strong leadership, especially at a time like this."

Raiken drew in a long, sharp breath, and Alister could tell he was holding back a very potent emotional response. Compared to his hidden loathing for this new request, General Braxton's reluctance to send troops looked like overjoyed eagerness. Nonetheless, he closed his eyes and considered seriously for a brief moment, then looked back up to lock eyes with the officer and said, "All right, then... I'll leave it to my second-in-command to wrap things up here... and I'll be on my way to Fastoon within the hour."

"Well, I appreciate your gusto, but there's really no need to rush your arrival so much. Feel free to finish your business on Lumos first."

"Thank you, General... but if I'm going to do this, I need to do it _now_, without giving myself time to reconsider."

Braxton stared at his new colleague knowingly and sympathetically for a few silent seconds. "I understand," he said at last. "My sincerest gratitude."

The transmission cut out and the holo-screen flew away. Raiken huffed a sigh that sounded almost like a growl and muttered under his breath. It was almost inaudible, but Alister thought he made out something like, 'once a soldier, always a soldier.'

The black Lombax turned and started to walk away, and Alister rushed after him, urgently pleading, "Sir, let me come with you."

"That's not necessary, Azimuth," Raiken said flatly, without slowing his pace or even turning to look at his subordinate. "You heard what he said. Soon there'll be a transport full of new recruits bound for Fastoon. Just wait until then and take the time to think it over and get your affairs in order."

Alister rushed to his side and matched his pace, stubbornly arguing, "I don't have any affairs to _get_ in order—and I've been thinking it over since I was a kid." He brazenly grabbed Raiken's arm, commanding his attention and stopping him in his tracks. It took a lot of effort not to wince at the affronted look on his commander's face. Surely such a breach in protocol merited severe reprimand, especially since Raiken was essentially a Lieutenant as of two minutes ago. But Alister was willing to face that risk, rather than watch this opportunity slip through his fingers.

"Please, sir..." he entreated in his most submissive, respectful tone. "Take me with you."

Raiken stood stone-still, regarding Alister with a sharp gaze and an entirely unreadable expression. Finally he said, "You realize that once you commit to this, there's no turning back."

"I know," Alister replied with firm conviction.

A twitch of the Lieutenant's lips betrayed the faintest of smiles, and he crossed his arms in front of him. "All right, then. I'll go make preparations to leave and come back to collect you in a little while."

Alister's face broke out into a grateful grin. He straightened and said with a strong salute, "Yes, sir!"

Raiken rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, and Alister watched him disappear into the haze that had permeated the air from all of the dust and crumbled infrastructure. The teenager released his anxiety in the form of a long exhale. He hadn't felt this rush of fear mixed with excitement since the day he was initiated into the militia. One more hurdle cleared. One more huge step toward his goal. It was getting closer by the day, and he would keep pressing forward, no matter how frightening it was.

He absentmindedly glanced off to the right, and through a thin veil of rising smoke he saw a blurry image of what looked like an amber Lombax staggering by. He gasped. Could that be... "Kaden?"

The figure turned to face him as the smoke cleared, revealing his ashen young face as he muttered, "Alister..."

"Kaden!" Alister rushed to his friend, both happy and worried. Kaden was in one piece, thank God, but he didn't look so good. "Are you all right?"

Kaden drew an unsteady breath, and his focus drifted to the ground as he said in a weak voice, "I think I'm gonna pass out..."

He stumbled forward and Alister caught him by the arms as he practically collapsed on him.

"Whoa! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No..."

"What happened?"

Kaden struggled to steady himself, swallowing as he looked up and met Alister's concerned eyes. At last he ventured to explain, "Nayeli's parents... were killed in the raid."

"Oh, wow..." Alister murmured in shock. "What did you do?"

"Well, I... I asked her to marry me."

Alister blinked a few times, eying his friend in dumbfounded silence. After a long pause, he at last muttered, "You... what?"

A panicked look washed over Kaden's face as he added, "She said yes."

Another long pause. "She _what?!_"

"You've gotta help me, Al!" Kaden exclaimed, grasping Alister's arms tightly as fearful desperation filled his eyes. "I'm not ready to get married! I'm freakin' _seventeen years old!_"

"Yeah, I know, and she's—what, _six_teen?"

"You're not helping!"

"Well, you're not making any sense! I mean— _seriously_, what the heck?"

Kaden stepped back and attempted to calm himself, taking a few seconds to steady his panicked breathing. "All right, look..." he said, his voice still a bit shaky. "I just—didn't want her to get swallowed up by the legal system, okay? I figured if she got married, then..."

Alister stared in shock at Kaden as he trailed off. He had never seen him like this—gasping out each breath while his dilated green eyes zipped to and fro. The fact that he had even _thought_ to do something like this, much less actually mustered the nerve to _do_ it...

Alister had never respected his best friend more, even though he'd also never seen him in a weaker state.

"Whoa..." he whispered in awe. "You really..."

Kaden kept his face low, his ears hanging limp behind his head... He wasn't exaggerating how distressful this was for him. All the spirit had drained right out of him, and he was barely able to function in his shock.

"Where's Nayeli now?" Alister asked, trying to say something useful despite his surprise.

"I'm not sure... She had to go identify her mother's body..." Kaden said nothing for a short moment, then exclaimed, "What should I do, Al? Tell me what I should do!"

At that moment Alister could not have described how badly he wanted to help Kaden—how much he wished he could say something encouraging to bolster his shattered confidence—but he was still in shock himself, and helpless to answer the pressing question before him.

To make things even worse, Raiken suddenly came running around the corner of a nearby building, urgently calling out, "Come on, Azimuth! The ship is being prepared for takeoff as we speak."

Kaden gasped and looked from the leader of the militia back to his friend. "You're leaving?"

Alister felt a pang of guilt jolt through him as he looked into Kaden's eyes, which were glazed over in childlike dread. He hesitantly explained, "The military is sending troops here to defend against possible future attacks, but... in exchange they need volunteers from Lumos to join the formal military and undergo training on Fastoon."

Kaden was silent as his countenance began to waver, and he turned away to hide it from his best friend.

"Kaden, I... I don't know what to say..." Alister muttered regretfully.

"No, it's—okay..." Kaden said with some difficulty, clenching his trembling fists. "You've been planning on this all your life. I shouldn't be surprised."

Alister bit his lip and looked away for a second before turning once more to his friend. "I'm sorry, Kade... You've always been there for me, and here I am leaving you at a time like this..."

He closed the gap between them in a few somber steps, grabbed Kaden's shoulder to turn him around, and then grasped his other shoulder to hold him steady as he looked him solemnly in the eye.

"You shouldn't have to face this alone..." he said. "But you _can_. You're smart enough, strong enough, and kind enough to get through it. I believe in you."

Kaden held his gaze for a quiet moment, then screwed his eyes shut and pressed forward, leaning against Alister's chest and wrapping his arms tightly around him. Alister stifled a surprised gasp, but quickly succumbed to the moment and hugged Kaden back... The two of them had never before expressed their bond in such an affectionate way, and it felt a trifle awkward... but even so, it was a perfect substantiation of how close they really were. All this time, as the days passed in a blur, they had slowly become each other's constant companion—the only trace of stability in a cruel, ever-changing world that had otherwise left them in its dust... And now, even _that_ was changing.

While they had innocently chased their dreams together, they'd never given much consideration to how those dreams would inevitably tear them apart. They both _knew_ that it was coming—that adulthood would one day have its way with their lives—but nonetheless, it took them by surprise. They never imagined it would happen like this; that it would sweep them up so suddenly at such an inopportune time. They had walked the same path side-by-side for so long... but now they were at the crossroads, where the road before them split, and they were not fated to go the same way. Alister knew this was true, but never imagined that leaving would be so hard.

"I'll miss you, buddy," Kaden mumbled despondently.

"Me too," Alister replied, squeezing Kaden a bit tighter just before letting him go. He turned away immediately, fearing the damage to his resolve should he look once more at Kaden's face, and with a torn, wavering heart, he rushed off to follow his commander.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden's heart sank as he watched his best friend shrink into the distance, resisting the temptation to run after him. In the end, though, his resistance failed and he took flight in pursuit of Alister. He skidded to a stop when he reached the plaza and saw a small ship perched close to where the central fountain once stood. It was the same model as Aphelion, with the same clear overhead dome that would, even if it weren't already open, give full view to a tiny, two-passenger cockpit. Inside the ship, occupying the pilot's chair and already manning the controls, was the fierce-looking black Lombax who Kaden recognized as the infamous ex-Lieutenant Raiken that Alister held in such high regard. The other seat was empty, but Kaden's attention snapped to the gray teenager somberly climbing into it.

"Alister!" he shouted, and his friend turned in surprise to see him as the ship's hatch began to close. "Don't die out there, ya hear?"

The hatch shut, and through its hard transparent alloy Alister forced a smile, raising his arm to deliver a feeble wave.

The thrum of the ship's massive engines filled the air, and the machine lifted off the ground. It rose vertically at a gradual pace until it had cleared the tops of the nearby buildings, then curved around and bolted into the sky at breakneck speed, where it soon disappeared.

Kaden watched all this with a heavy heart, and when it was over he was left alone in the silence that followed. He fell to his knees and clutched his head, groaning in overwhelmed frustration. Somehow his whole world had transformed before his eyes faster than he could even keep up. What would life be like in the days to come? He was afraid to even wonder.

* * *

******Author's Notes:**

******- **_**The Pirate 'Leaders'—**_****** In case anyone couldn't tell, I based these guys on the mini bosses from the pirate levels of ToD. Sadly, as much as I wanted to, I just didn't have time to comb through the game and fight a few of them before writing up the fight for this chapter. Thus, I ended up having to rely on Youtube walkthroughs (and **_**Shadow of the Colossus**_****** :P) when typing up that scene. I hope this didn't result in any wasted potential.**

******- **_**Theme Song: "Over My Head" by The Fray—**_****** Again, not all the lyrics in this song fit **_**perfectly**_******, but it describes how overwhelmed Kaden feels as everything in his life changes all at once. His home has just been attacked for the first time in his entire life, and on top of that he's suddenly engaged and losing his best friend, and... he's totally in over his head. Poor guy. :(**


	7. Do You?

**Foreword:**

**You know what's funny? I came up with the idea for The General and Kaden **_**months**_** before I posted the first chapter, and it had nothing to do with any other fics that had already been posted... Yet, by the time I had the plan for it firmly in mind and actually started writing/posting it, a bunch of other fics about Kaden were starting to pop up like mushrooms all over the place. o_0 This was/is a bit frustrating for me, because now I'm really interested to read stories about Kaden, but I'm afraid that if I do, I'll subconsciously let them affect how I write **_**my**_** story, and I really want mine to be as unique as I can possibly make it. Thus, I've decided not to read any other fics about Kaden until I've finished my own, so that they won't color they way **_**I**_** write him... But maybe after TGaK is finished, I'll sift through the archives and read some of those other Kaden stories, just to see the differences in how other people imagine him. :)**

* * *

"_May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth."_

— _Proverbs 5:18_

« ... »

When Nayeli's friends found out she was getting married, they were just as surprised as Alister, only they reacted much more— vocally. For over a week Kaden was bombarded constantly by the inquisition of concerned parties who cared nothing for how their flagrant accusations affected _him_. All that mattered to them was making sure their bereaved friend wasn't getting hitched to some creep, and their standards were dishearteningly high.

Kaden could hardly blame them. Quite the contrary, he was _glad_ Nayeli had such loyal comrades to watch out for her... He only wished that a similar base of support existed for him as well. His only advocate had been carted off to another planet right when all this had started, and there was no one else there to vouch for him, to believe in him, or to encourage him through the crushing scrutiny that assailed from every angle.

No one said a kind word to him during his week of unwelcome evaluation. No one thanked him for his willingness to do this monumental thing for Nayeli. All they did was remind him of how unprepared he was for the changes ahead, and how little he really understood the girl he professed to love. They shook their heads in disgust whenever he failed to answer their questions, and there were so— _so_ many. He didn't know Nayeli's birthday, or her favorite color, or her favorite flower. He didn't know her childhood fantasies, her most cherished memories, or even her parents' names. When Callista asked him how many children Nayeli wanted, he thought he would faint from the surge of blood that rushed into his cheeks. Thankfully in that instance he was rescued by Nayeli herself, who appeared practically out of nowhere and chased the girl away, barraging her with sharp, embarrassed shouts. Thus Kaden learned one more thing he'd never known about his fair lady: she was actually capable of getting angry.

Nayeli had at last put a stop to this madness by threatening that the next person to give her fiancée a hard time would not be invited to the wedding. But the damage had already been done. A baneful, sickening pit had opened at the bottom of Kaden's stomach, filled with the threefold message communicated to him through the dissent of those involved combined with his existing insecurities: he didn't deserve Nayeli, he wasn't doing the right thing by marrying her, and he couldn't possibly make her happy.

Despite his sincerest efforts to fight off these feelings, deep down he came to believe that they were true. Who was he kidding? He had no idea what marriage would be like. He didn't know how to handle the responsibilities of heading a family any better than he knew Nayeli's first words. Her friends were right. He was just a clueless, immature teenager, and he had virtually nothing to offer such a wonderful person as Nayeli...

But he loved that girl more than life itself—more than he could possibly express. He would do anything, give anything, be anything in order to protect her. He would go to the ends of the universe and _die_ there for her sake. That had to count for _something_... right?

Nayeli had returned to him practically in tears after chasing off Callista that day, looking just as flustered and ashamed as he was, and murmured apologetically, head hanging low, "Are you still sure you want to marry me?"

With a depressed sigh Kaden had turned and walked away, dejectedly muttering, "I should be asking _you_ that."

Somehow he had made it through the difficult three weeks following the pirate raid, and now he had only to face the night before the wedding. Easier said than done. With his nerves frazzled as they were, there was no way he could fall asleep, and if he didn't sleep he was afraid to imagine how it would affect his composure the next day—not that he had much composure to begin with. Looking on the bright side, perhaps if he was dead on his feet during the wedding, the fatigue would dull his nerves enough to keep him from making a fool of himself... Then again, if _that_ was the bright side, it was probably already a lost cause.

With a brisk tossing aside of his blanket and a frustrated sigh, he shoved on his hoverboots and went for a 'run' to clear his head, or at least _attempt_ to do so.

The cool night air against his face was refreshing, but it did little to take his mind off his worries. He tried to focus on the beauty of the sky above, dotted with sparkling stars, but it only made him think about the night two years ago when he and Alister had walked Nayeli home. She gazed up at those stars like she knew all their names. She smiled at them as though they were smiling back... Suddenly Kaden lost interest in the stars and instead fixed his eyes on the road ahead.

Somehow, by no conscious design of his own, he ended up at the ruins of Nayeli's old house. He tried not to grimace when he saw it. The place had been left exactly as it was after the raid—not a high priority for the cleanup crews, apparently—and in the dim moonlight it looked like the remains of a haunted run-down mansion from one of those old holo-films. Kaden couldn't have guessed what possessed him to walk toward the wreckage rather than speed away, but nonetheless he soon found himself standing in what used to be the foyer, and what was now a rubble-laden floor stretching out to ravaged walls and a staircase that stopped short of the second floor where a huge chunk of ceiling had crashed down onto it.

Kaden wondered where Nayeli's mother and father had been when this travesty was committed— if they had lived long enough to see their beautiful home destroyed, or if they had been killed before that. What would they think of him? There he was, standing on the very ground where their blood had been spilt, on the eve of the day he was to marry their daughter. Dare he wonder in hope if they would accept him as their son? Surely not. Surely they would detest him for moving in on Nayeli so soon after their deaths—like a predator preying on an orphaned and helpless young animal. Yes... surely they would hate him, just like he hated himself right now.

Kaden's ears twitched in alarm at the sound of footsteps approaching. In his surprise he panicked, and without thinking slipped through a hole in one of the walls to hide behind the part of the structure that was still standing. The soft pitter-pat of delicate feet got closer until they stopped—where he had been standing seconds ago, from the sound of it.

"Well, Mom... this is it," said a familiar voice, and Kaden's eyes flew open in shock. "My wedding is tomorrow. I wish I could say that I'm looking forward to it, but the thing is... I don't know if I'm ready for this..."

Nayeli's voice choked tearfully as this admission passed her lips, and Kaden's hands tightened into somber fists as he listened to her continue.

"I always figured I would get married eventually... But I imagined it would be _years _from now, to someone I already had a solid relationship with. I imagined that the night before my wedding you and Dad would be there to help me get over my jitters. Papa would give me advice on how to handle guys, and you would smile and hug me and cry on my shoulder about how your little girl had grown up so fast..." Nayeli burst into a fit of muffled sobs, and even though Kaden's eyes were closed and she was out of his range of vision, in his mind's eye he could clearly see her burying her face in her hands as she cried. He bit his lip almost to the point of drawing blood, struggling not to make a sound as he fought back his own tears.

"But instead here I am—" the girl continued, "only sixteen, marrying a boy barely a year older than me, and we've never even held hands... I can't imagine what you would think of me right now if you were here—but the whole reason I'm doing this is because you're _not_ here..."

Nayeli sniffled a few times and calmed her breathing before she went on. "I'd like to think that you would understand... I realize that I don't actually know Kaden all that well... but I do know, without a doubt, that he really does _care _about me... And I think that should be enough... I mean, it was enough for you and Dad, wasn't it?"

Kaden's heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears. His eyes, minutes ago shut tight in silent compassion, now gaped in utter amazement.

An unfortunate slip of his left hand disturbed a patch of loose molding, and it crumbled to the ground. Kaden winced as the sound reverberated through the empty space, provoking a surprised gasp from Nayeli.

"Is someone there?" the girl called out nervously.

Kaden obeyed his first impulse and ran, dodging his way around ravaged walls and upturned furniture until he found a way out of the house through a broken window. He fled the scene as fast as he could on his own strength, refraining from using his hoverboots lest Nayeli hear them and realize that it was him. He had enough insecurities plaguing his mind without adding to the list such an awkward encounter with his bride-to-be the night before their wedding. With any luck, she would assume he was just a looter, and as this hope took form in his mind, he felt disgusted at how such a thing could pass for 'luck' in his current position.

Flustered and confused, the teenager fled the settlement and headed into the untamed wilderness beyond. He tried desperately not to ponder the things he had heard Nayeli say, certain he would be unable to decide whether to feel comforted, or just more troubled.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The tired, disheartened young Lombax wandered unceremoniously into his workshop, dragging his feet as he skulked over to his ship. Aphelion opened her hatch without needing to be told, and closed it behind him after he dragged himself into the cockpit and melted into the nearest seat. He volunteered no explanation for his untimely visit, or the haggard state in which he presented himself, and the ship's new AI did its work to make her curious.

"Would it be too bold for me to ask what's troubling you?" she asked.

Kaden heaved a long sigh and dismally muttered, "I'm getting married tomorrow."

"Oh..." Aphelion's tone sounded as though she could only somewhat process the magnitude of that statement. "Well, I am certainly not one to know about such things, but... I was under the impression that for biological creatures, weddings were meant to be happy occasions."

"I am _happy_... but I'm also terrified. What if this turns out to be a mistake? What if she ends up hating me? I don't know what I'm getting into with this... I'm just a kid. _She's_ just a kid. How are we gonna make this work?"

Kaden hadn't actually expected Aphelion to be able to comfort him. If he were to be perfectly honest, he'd have to admit that he was just venting on her. He needed to talk to someone—_anyone_—other than Nayeli. If he didn't get this off his chest, he would never be able to face the next morning. The uncertainty was eating him alive. So, he wasn't surprised or disappointed when the ship's reply was a moment of hesitation followed by, "I see... I wish I could offer some helpful advice, but—"

"It's okay, Feel," Kaden said, drawing a tiny bit of helpful satisfaction from being able to call his ship by a creative pet name. "This isn't your problem; you don't need to worry about it."

The ship was silent for a short moment, but then she addressed him once more, saying, "Perhaps I can help you indirectly."

"What do you mean?"

"I've just received a recorded message from Alister Azimuth. Shall I play it for you?"

"Yes!" Kaden exclaimed, jumping in his seat and leaning toward the view screen.

"Very well," said Aphelion. The small screen quaintly situated to the right of her control stick blinked to an image of Alister, and Kaden's heart skipped a beat when he saw it. He almost blurted out a happy greeting, but caught himself just in time as he remembered that this was a recorded message rather than a two-way comm signal.

"Hey there, Kade," Alister muttered with a wave. "Don't bother replying to this, 'cause I... probably won't be able to receive it... but I wanted to send you a quick message before I get to my base and lose all semblance of freedom for the next twenty years..." He paused to smile halfheartedly at his own frail attempt to lighten the mood, but quickly abandoned that lost cause and continued somberly. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I'm missing your wedding. Of all the ironic timing clashes that could've happened, right? But I figured since I won't be there, the least I could do was offer some steady advice since chances are a million to one you're freaking out right now..."

Alister donned a stern expression and stared forward as though he was looking his friend directly in the eye. "Remember who you are. You're the craziest, most fearless son of a monkey wrench who ever bought with the same bolts he built with. If you can't stand before a girl who likes collecting nectar by moonlight, you're a sorry excuse for a Lombax. Toughen up! And on the flip side, try to give yourself a little slack. You're stressed because you mess up and you mess up because you're stressed. Don't sweat the little mistakes! If the scary things get overwhelming, just remind yourself about the good things. I mean, you're marrying the girl of your dreams. Be _happy_ about it, for heaven's sake... Oh, and if you freeze up, just say what comes naturally... I know you can do this. Over and out."

The recording ended, and Kaden just sat there staring at the blank screen for a full minute while his face slowly broke into a hopeful grin.

"Did that help, Kaden?" Aphelion wondered.

"Yeah..." Kaden replied softly. "Thanks, Feel... You both helped a lot."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Despite feeling a little better after listening to Alister's message, Kaden was nonetheless struck by acute insomnia throughout the night. Thus, come morning, he arrived at the church several hours early and ended up having to wait outside its locked doors for someone to let him inside. Ironically enough, he'd almost fallen asleep when his ears perked at the sound of footsteps, and he looked up from his huddled back-to-the-wall position to see the minister approaching.

"Nervous, young one?" the tall thin Lombax asked gently, sparing a knowing smile down at Kaden before turning his attention to the security pad beside the door. He was of middling age, with grayish fur and a soft, welcoming face. Kaden was surprised at the coincidental association he drew upon looking at him: in appearance he somewhat resembled Alister, but his gentle air reminded of Nayeli.

Kaden shook his head and turned to the ground between his feet with a sigh. "You could say that," he muttered. "Got any insightful advice for me?"

The Lombax finished whatever check-in procedure was required and stepped back while the doors slid open of their own accord.

"Let's get you inside for starters, hmm?" he said, stepping past the doors into the building. Kaden raised a curious eyebrow, then stood up and followed.

After a short while leading the way through the elegant interior of the building, the minister said, "For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing."

Kaden was curious why this Lombax who he'd never met before seemed to know the details of this affair, but he chose not to mention it. He couldn't imagine anything _less_ desirable at that moment than finding out how Nayeli's fan club had been talking about him behind his back now that they weren't allowed to trash him to his face anymore. So instead, he asked a question much more meaningful to him. "How do you know it's the right thing?"

"I didn't say I _know_," the Lombax corrected, "I said I _think_."

Kaden bit his lip and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. After a few seconds' thought, he respectfully asked, "Well, then... _why_ do you think it's the right thing?"

"Because you are doing it for _her_, and not for yourself," he answered, provoking an astounded look from Kaden as he added, "Selfless love is rare these days, you know. God forbid it should ever go unrewarded."

At a loss for words, Kaden could only gape in astonishment at the deceptively wise old Lombax. Momentarily he stopped before a simple door in a secluded hallway and casually opened it,. He then turned and gave Kaden a warm, encouraging smile before gesturing inside the room.

"May your future be blessed, young one," he said, and without another word, quietly set off down the hallway.

"Wait," Kaden called after him.

The minister stopped and turned his head. "Yes?"

Kaden hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you married?"

"Yes."

"Is it hard?"

"Sometimes." The Lombax stared thoughtfully into space for a few seconds, and a serene smile crossed the profile of his face. "But those are the times when it's most apparent to me... that what I have is worth any struggle to keep."

And with that he turned away and continued down the hall.

Kaden gazed after him for a moment, and was surprised to feel the faintest trace of a smile tickle the corners of his face as he stepped inside the room to get ready for the ceremony.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

It was time.

Five hours had passed in a blur and Kaden could scarcely believe that the awaited, dreaded hour was actually at hand. It took a long moment and a lot of deep breaths before he worked up the courage to emerge from the shadows backstage and step out into the light. As all eyes fell on him he in turn took a brief glance out at the assembly of guests. There couldn't have been more than thirty, but every single one of them was here for Nayeli. He could sense piercing glares caged behind their blank eyes, and swallowed hard as he fought to press forward. _It doesn't matter what they think,_ he reminded himself, resolutely making a fist as he took his place beside the pulpit.

A welcome contrast to the audience, the minister greeted him with a warm smile and mouthed the word, "Ready?"

Kaden nodded with as much dignity as he could muster, and turned to face the audience as the wedding march began to play. The doors at the back of the room opened to reveal the bride as she stepped gracefully inside.

Kaden's breath left him when he saw her. Her dress was simple and elegant, an even purer white than her fur. Rather than a veil, she wore a circlet of wild flowers about her head— the same kind that filled the small bouquet she held in her hands. Her eyes were positively _sparkling_, and she looked straight at her groom, smiling. His senses became almost unresponsive as she began to advance slowly toward him.

Suddenly she was at his side, and he remembered where he was as the minister began to speak. Kaden turned to face him and tried desperately to shake himself from his daze, but he just couldn't shift his focus, and the Lombax's words continued to tangle incoherently in his mind, until... "The couple will now say their vows."

Kaden stifled a gasp, and looked at the minister with panicked eyes as he pathetically muttered, "What?"

The minister looked at him with sympathy and said, "It's time for you to say your vows, son."

"R-Right."

Kaden turned to Nayeli, and was immediately done in by such a close glance at her. She smiled expectantly, glowing like an angel descended from heaven, and rendered him silent. No matter how hard he tried to remember his vows, they refused to surface in his memory, and when he opened his mouth to speak, all that came out was a bout of senseless stuttering.

"U-Um... I... Well—you see..."

Murmurs started rising from the crowd, and Nayeli's smile slowly melted away. His heart was racing, and shrinking in fear. He couldn't believe this was happening. What was he going to do?

Suddenly Alister's voice spoke up in his mind as though he were there, repeating from yesterday's message, _"i__f you freeze up, just say what comes naturally...__"_

What comes naturally? Did he dare look his bride in the eyes when he was supposed to deliver wedding vows and instead simply say what came _naturally_? He had little choice at this point, however; he had to say _something_. So, with the last of his composure he breathed in sharply and blurted out, "My _g__osh_, you're so beautiful... I stayed up nights pounding through what I was going to say to you right now. I thought about it every minute of every day, and I wrote it down, and I practiced until I could almost say it in my sleep... But when I saw you walk through that door, my mind went completely _blank_ and... now I can't remember a word of it..."

Kaden cast his eyes down, and breathed a few times before he found the courage to go on. "So... obviously I can't promise I'll be the most thoughtful, or reliable husband— but I _can_ promise you that I will always be gentle, and honest with you... because when I'm with you... my defenses just... crumble."

At that moment Nayeli's bridal bouquet fell from her hands, striking the ground at her feet with a rustling _crash_ that echoed through the whole room, thanks to the former silence. Kaden looked up with a start, and for a split second he saw the astonished look on her face—her eyes gaping and her mouth hanging open. The girl gasped in humiliation and immediately stooped down to pick up the bouquet. When she rose to her feet again she kept her face downcast.

"Why did you have to go and do that?" she muttered in a tearful voice. "Now I've forgotten what _I'm_ supposed to say..."

Kaden blinked in surprise. Nayeli slowly lifted up her eyes, filled with fresh tears and more trust and gratitude than Kaden thought he deserved.

The minister, on the other hand, just smiled and quickly stepped in to break the silence. "Well then, I suppose we can just move on. Nayeli, do you take Kaden to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Kaden, do you take Nayeli to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

The minister nodded in approval and said, "Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Turning to Kaden, he added, "You may kiss the bride."

Kaden momentarily froze as he gazed upon the pure, innocent face smiling up at him. He felt like a sinner trespassing on holy ground, and was suddenly afraid to take this step. The very fact that he wanted it so badly made him question his right to take it. Was he certain he was doing this for the right reasons? That there wasn't selfishness at the root of why he was here?

But just then, Nayeli's own words from the night before resurfaced in his mind. _"I __do __know, without a doubt, that he really does _care _about me... And I think that should be enough..."_

That was what she'd said. It was what she truly believed, and if it was enough for her, it was enough for him.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned in toward Nayeli...

And cue the fireworks. Even if his brain had been functioning steadily enough to remember words, he would not have been able to think of any to describe the sensation that came over him in that moment. All the sense and reason in him just fell away like an unfastened cloak, leaving nothing but pure, unbridled delight. After what seemed to him much too short a time, he reluctantly pulled back, and his eyes came to rest on the bride he could still scarcely believe was _his_.

The minister was about to say something when suddenly Kaden, as though possessed by some outside force, grabbed Nayeli by the shoulders and vigorously pulled her in for another kiss—and another, and another... He held the third for several seconds, and finally released her with a deep, sharp breath, like he'd broken surface after being underwater too long.

The murmurs of the small crowd called him back to himself, and he snapped out of his trance with a flush of embarrassment. He opened his eyes and saw Nayeli staring at him in shock, breathing a bit hard herself.

"I-I'm sorry..." he muttered, lowering his head in shame. He turned to the minister and said with as much composure as he could muster up, "Go on."

As the minister recited the final formalities of the wedding ceremony, his words a tangle of gibberish in Kaden's flopped ears, the flustered groom couldn't help but steal a glance at the girl standing at his side. He was terrified of what she might be thinking right now. How could he have allowed his self-control to slip like that? He was surprised—and relieved—to see that she was shrugging sheepishly, her lips stretched into a timid smile between flushed cheeks.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- **_**The Wedding— **_**Hopefully I haven't just lost all my male readers. XP Being a girl and a hopeless romantic, I probably had a little too much fun fantasizing about what Kaden and Nayeli's wedding would be like. Still, I figured it was too 'mushy' to fit in with the rest of the story, and I didn't want to stall the plot. So I resolved not to include it in the actual fic... but then I attended a wedding, and that resolve fell apart. *-* My apologies to anyone who feels like they have a few new cavities after reading this chapter, but I just— couldn't— resist! DX If it's any consolation, I promise that the story won't turn into a romance novel from this point. ;)**

**- **_**Theme Song: "Your Guardian Angel" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus— **_**Need I explain? X3**


	8. The Ties That Bind

**Foreword:**

**Are the fellas still with me? XP Okay, I've had my fun with the wedding—now it's time to get back to the action! :D I wish I could've posted this sooner, but for many reasons too numerous to mention, I had an unprecedented level of difficulty writing this chapter. DX I did my best, but I still feel a tad insecure about how it came out... Hopefully everyone will like it. :)**

* * *

"_Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry."_

— _Jeremiah 4:19_

« ... »

Alister struggled to stay on his feet as a sudden impact jolted the whole ship.

"Three hostile vessels just attacked from the port bow!" shouted the helmsman.

The ship violently rocked again as another barrage of gunfire pounded the hull. This time Alister had to brace himself against a bulkhead to keep from falling over.

"The Dakari," Raiken seethed. "Should've known they wouldn't allow us the luxury of defending our own station."

"Returning fire," shouted the Lombax at the tactical station, clinging to the console before him in a desperate effort to keep his footing as the ship continued to convulse.

Alister found a handhold on a nearby railing and swallowed nervously, watching the battle as best he could through the restrictive lens of the ship's view screen. He hated being in this position. Stuck aboard a ship, unable to do anything but wait and hope that those in control would be able to defeat the attackers. He hated it when things were entirely out of his control.

"Target destroyed," the tactical officer announced. Another tremor shook the ship, this one strong enough to send several crewmen sprawling to the floor.

"Looks like his friends aren't too happy about that," said the helmsman. He wrenched back his joystick, and the resulting loop would've sent everyone plummeting to the ceiling if not for their artificial gravity.

The enemy ships came back into view only to be hit by a spread of retaliatory fire. Alister smiled in relief when one of them exploded into stardust.

"Second target destroyed. The third is retreating."

"Let them go," Raiken ordered. "Put us back on course for the Havilah Station."

"Sir, I should note that we've taken considerable damage."

"Understood, but I don't have to remind you how important that station is."

"Yes, sir."

"How long will it take for us to get there?"

"At maximum speed, about five minutes."

Raiken huffed out a well-concealed sigh, momentarily dropping his eyes to the ground. The immediate threat was gone, and the atmosphere relaxed a bit, but Alister could still sense the tension bearing down upon everyone present—even the Captain. Alister looked to his mentor with compassion. As a committed soldier, Raiken was very good at keeping his feelings contained, but Alister knew what was really going on under that impenetrable exterior of his. He was minutes away from facing his worst fear. This was an issue far deeper and more personal than his ever-present disdain for the horrors and necessities of war.

_ "Do you remember what I told you about the Dakari the day you were first recruited into the Lumos militia, Azimuth?" the Lieutenant asked._

_ "Yes, sir, I think so..." Alister responded curiously. "They killed your unit and then released you alone, right?"_

_ "Wrong. Actually, they didn't kill my unit... They forced _me_ to do it."_

_ A muted gasp pierced the air inside the ship's small cabin, and Alister remained completely still. He was too shocked to utter another sound as Raiken went on. "They gave me a blaster and told me that if I shot the others, I would be spared—but if not they would kill us all."_

_ He paused, apparently to collect his thoughts. His composure was beginning to break down, and he had to grit his teeth to keep his jaw from trembling. Finally he continued, his voice wavering with suppressed pain. "Of course I refused. I would have preferred death over living with that guilt... but my comrades begged me to do it. They told me I needed to survive at any cost, and continue to fight back against people like the Dakari. They said that if just one of us could go on living, the deaths of the others wouldn't be in vain..."_

_ At long last Raiken's expression softened to the point where Alister hardly recognized him anymore, and he quietly looked away. All at once his wall came down, and for the first time he let his true self—pure, kind, and vulnerable—show without pretense or camouflage in all its tender weakness. With a downcast face he shut his eyes tight and spoke in mournful, shuddering breaths. "I couldn't believe the injustice of it... I remember looking into their eyes—how strong and determined they were—and I hated myself with every fiber of my being as I pointed that cursed weapon at them. I didn't say I was sorry, because I knew that no apology I could offer would ever be enough..."_

Sadly—angrily—Alister remembered the story Raiken had told him on the day almost a year ago when they had traveled to Fastoon to be formally initiated into the Lombax Pretorian Guard. Why had Raiken left the military in the first place? The question had been burning on his tongue for the better part of an hour while they sat in the solace of that cramped little cockpit, passing the time in utter silence. Had he known how painfully personal the answer was, he would never have worked up the courage to ask. To this day he was amazed that the hardened officer had actually opened up such a deep old wound and let it bleed anew, just to satisfy the curiosity of his restless young subordinate.

Alister returned to himself as the Havilah research station came into view—surrounded by a small fleet of enemy ships. They swarmed around it like hungry Tetramites, pelting it with energy beams. Tiny explosions erupted all across the structure's Raritanium-enforced plating.

Despite this disturbing spectacle, the focus of everyone on deck was invariably drawn to one Dakari ship in particular. Unlike the rest of its fleet, it was enormous, and remained completely still as it hovered threateningly over the outpost, connected to it by a thick tether.

"Good Lord," Raiken murmured. "They've brought out their mother ship."

"Is that good news or bad news?" Alister asked.

"That depends... If we can destroy it, it'll more than likely spell out the end of the Dakari... but if we can't..." He neglected to finish, thus making his meaning all the more clear.

"Battle stations, everyone!" Raiken ordered, then turned to the officer at tactical. "Synch our teleport pad to one on the station. I need all my foot soldiers ready to transport down there!"

« ... »

When Alister materialized on the station, he was already poised for battle. One quick sweep of the room, and he instantly understood why the Dakari terrorist group was regarded with such fear. They had members from many different races— Terraklons, Agorians, and even some Markazians. Evidently any being who blamed Lombaxes for the Galaxy's current struggles was eligible to join. Even so, their ranks primarily consisted of Rundaks—a fierce species of rodent-like build and appearance. They scurried about in a vindictive rage, destroying equipment and brandishing large weapons as they threatened defenseless Lombax scientists. The onboard security team did their best to fend them off, but they were having a hard time of it. Bodies were already piling up.

Alister and his squad immediately leapt to their defense, bursting forth and gunning down about a dozen invaders within the first minute of their arrival. They secured the room with little difficulty, but Alister knew that things would not be so easy now that they no longer had the element of surprise.

Raiken rushed over to a Lombax who lay collapsed on the ground and helped him to his feet. "I'm Captain Raiken of the Lombax Pretorian Guard," he said in a hurry. "What's the situation here?"

"They're after our technology," the scientist stated worriedly. "They've already taken the prototypes of some experimental weapons back to their ship. They've also secured the main research lab, and right now they're trying to hack into the computer."

"Will they succeed?"

"I don't think so, but either way—they'll probably destroy the station."

"Sir, we've got company!" announced one of the soldiers, poising himself for battle as a wave of Dakari thundered into the room. Alister immediately took aim and shot down two of the attackers, then dove behind a console just in time to save his skin as the room suddenly lit up with gunfire. Two of his comrades who weren't as fast as him went down nearby, and Alister grimaced as he heard their shrieks of pain just before they crashed to the ground. He forced himself not to look. He had to stay focused on the battle.

After a quick glance to ensure that the rest of his teammates were on his side of the room, he grabbed a plasma grenade from his utility belt and lobbed it over his shoulder. The screams accompanying the explosion told him that he had neutralized several targets. As though they shared one mind, the entire squad leaped from hiding within the same second that the noise died down. The startled Dakari that survived the grenade were overtaken in a deadly strobe.

No sooner than the room was clear, the team blazed out into the station, fighting their way past any enemy forces they encountered as they pressed forward. Alister cheated death several more times, while several more of his comrades weren't as lucky. It started to look questionable whether they would have enough soldiers left by the time they reached the areas that needed to be defended. And then there was the disheartening fact that their defense of the interior meant _nothing_ if the battle in space went to the enemy. The way the floor continued to shake and conduits to rupture didn't bode well for their hopes that things were going well outside. Alister tried to dismiss his concerns and keep his head in the fight, but Raiken evidently sensed the same danger.

During a lull in combat, he beckoned the squad into a secluded corridor. While his men caught their bearings, Raiken tapped the comm unit on his breastplate and urgently called out, "Dante, come in! How are you doing out there?"

The officer commanding the ship answered in a near-shout, his voice muffled by the sound of blaring alarms. "Reinforcements have arrived, but we're taking heavy fire from the mother ship. I don't think the Echelon can last much longer, and I doubt the other Lombax ships are faring much better."

Raiken looked hopelessly thoughtful for a few seconds. "We need to take out their weapons," he muttered, as if to himself. "Autopilot wouldn't be fast or precise enough..."

"Sir?" Alister wondered aloud.

The Captain ignored him and muttered hesitantly. "Dante... I want you to evacuate the crew of the Echelon to the station."  
Dante hesitated to respond. Apparently he was as confused by this command as Alister was. "Yes sir, but... what about the ship?"

"Leave that to me. Raiken out." With that he turned to Alister and resolutely stated, "Azimuth, I'm leaving you in command."

"What do you mean?" Alister asked. "Where are _you_ going?"

"The Echelon is already as good as destroyed..." Raiken explained. "So I'm going to drive it into the Dakari mother ship."

Alister gasped in horror. "No! You'll be killed!"

"I know."

"But—!"

"If their defenses fall, they'll try to run... but you _can't_ let them get away." He turned to face the young soldier and looked him directly in the eye, his expression stern and challenging. "Understand?"

Alister could only stare back at him in fearful shock, hoping that tears wouldn't start pouring down his cheeks. With a deep swallow, he forced out the words, "Yes, sir."

Raiken nodded and donned a proud smile, displaying once more the inner kindness that he was always so careful to guard. "Take care of yourself, Alister," he ordered with an almost paternal affection in his voice, calling him by his proper name for the first—and final—time.

For a short, dreadful moment, Alister could only stare after him as he dashed back toward the transport room, disappearing behind the inside curve of the corridor. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He couldn't accept it. Why? Why did the people he most cared about always die before him? Why could he never protect them? Why was he always unable to do anything but stand by and watch such precious lives slip through his fingers? This sickening, gut-wrenching feeling hadn't consumed him so vividly since his father's death.

He was forced from his daze by one of his comrades—now his subordinates—urgently asking, "What should we do, Azi—uh—sir?"

He turned to face the group of soldiers whose fates now rested in his hands. They looked at him with surprise and nervous trepidation, but they stood ready to follow him into battle, and to carry out his orders even unto death. Alister didn't feel like he deserved their trust, let alone this position of command over them. He didn't feel like he was ready to lead. Nevertheless, here he was, and he had a promise to keep. He would never forgive himself if he let his apprehension drive him to failure.

Swallowing his pain, he seized control over his emotions and started barking out orders.

"Gareth, go back to meet up with Dante. Tell the evacuees from our ship to head for the main research lab and try to take it back from the invaders."

"Yes, sir."

As Gareth took off, Alister turned to the rest of his squad and simply ordered, "The rest of you, follow me!"

He and his troops charged as fast as possible through the corridors of the space station, dealing quickly and harshly with any resistance they met along the way. Driven by grief and maddening frustration, Alister fought with more feral animosity than ever before. The Dakari he met in battle gradually ceased to have faces or souls. All he saw as he blew them away with blasts of energy or beat them off with the cold metal of his weapon was enemies, murderers, or at best just mindless drones getting in his way when all he wanted to do was save lives. Why?! Why did they hate Lombaxes so much? Why couldn't they just leave them alone? These questions burned his heart from the inside out, but at that moment he didn't care what the answers were. He just let his rage blaze against his enemies, and no Dakari trooper who dared stand in his path remained standing for long.

Finally his squad burst into the engine room, where a quick glance at the domed roof revealed the tether connecting the Havilah station to the Dakari mother ship. From this angle he could see that it was no simple cable. Three massive metal hooks protruded from it like talons, latching it firmly in place. The cable itself was actually more like a pipe, periodically dispensing a new wave of invaders.

Now he understood... They couldn't hack into the station's teleport pads, so they used _this_ approach to board the station. That explained why the outside forces were so overwhelming. This tether-tube plan was risky, and they were relying on their vast numbers to keep the Lombaxes aboard the station busy enough that they wouldn't be able to corner them right at their entry point.

Had he not been so angry, Alister would have smiled. All at once, he had his counterstrike completely figured out.

"Charge!" he shouted, then plunged into battle with his men on his heels. They came upon the terrorists in that room like a breaking wave. Engaging the enemy in close-quarters was dangerous, but in this instance it was necessary. He was using their own strategy against them.

Alister cut his way to the center of the room as stealthily as he could, relying on the distraction provided by the surrounding battle, and razed a Terraklon who was guarding two Lombax hostages. He pulled them to their feet, not giving them a chance to catch their breath before he shoved them in front of a computer console, urgently bidding, "Seal all the doors to this room. Hurry!"

"O-Okay," one stuttered, wiping his hand across his forehead before setting to work at the controls. His partner was panting and trembling terribly, but he also did his best to comply.

"Don't worry," Alister assured. "I'll cover you."

True to his word, the determined young soldier planted himself behind the two engineers as they worked. He didn't like this position. He didn't want to be stuck in one place while his compatriots were fighting all around him. But he had no choice. This part of his plan was critical. Against his better nature, he was actually glad when Dakari terrorists came charging at him. He blocked, parried, and shot, bringing down each of them without fail. One by one they collapsed in a bloody mess at his feet.

It felt like an hour passed before the doors leading into the room fell down, sealing in place with a snap of vacuumed air.

"Finished," one of the engineers reported. "The room is completely locked down."

"Good," Alister said. "Now get out of harm's way while we finish this."

The engineers were not the least bit hesitant to comply, and Alister rushed to rejoin his team as they fought off the Dakari that remained in the vicinity. A quick order shouted over the din of battle, and two of his men were guarding the enemy chute, where they made short work of any unwanted visitors who dared drop in. It took less than a minute to secure the room, though they took a few more casualties in the process.

Alister looked around for any signs of further threat, then called the two engineers out of hiding.

"I need one of you at a tactical station to report on the battle outside," he said.

"Right away." The more assertive of the two nodded and went straight to a nearby console and set to work. He had to grab hold of it to steady himself as a small tremor rocked the room.

"A Lombax ship just collided with the Dakari mother ship." he reported.

Alister felt his heart sink into his stomach. His eyes fell closed, and his hands clenched into tight, trembling fists. He took in a sharp breath, and tried not to let his voice waver as he asked, "What's the damage to the mother ship?"

The engineer fiddled with his console for a few seconds, then reported in a stunned tone, "Their primary weapons array has been destroyed. They're powering their engines—most likely to retreat."

"Over my dead body," Alister whispered, his voice dripping with hatred. "Is there any way you can keep that tether from detaching?"

The engineers looked surprised. "Why would we want to do _that?_" asked the one at the tactical station.

"We can't let the Dakari escape with our technology. Besides, if they get away now, they'll just be back later, but if we can take out their mother ship, they'll never bother us again."

The two Lombaxes looked at each other worriedly, but nodded and turned back to Alister. "We could try the weld cannon."

Alister didn't know what that was, but he liked the sound of it.

Seconds later the two engineers were manning a huge machine that looked something like a hovercar with a big laser on top. One of them sat inside on an angled seat with a joystick in either hand and a visor over his eyes. The other stood behind the machine operating a console. "Power at full," he announced.

"Copy that." The one in the seat pulled his joysticks, and a narrow red beam shot forth from the barrel of the gigantic welding gun. It struck the talons of the invading tether-tube where they clutched the metal roof of the station, and slowly moved along that seam, melting the two together and leaving behind a trail of blazing red.

Soon the seal was finished, and Alister turned to the engineers as they were stepping away from the weld cannon, already giving them a new batch of orders. "One of you monitor the situation outside. I need the other to unseal those doors and get me the biggest hand-held explosive device in this station."

The poor researchers were looking more flustered and worried by the second, but they nodded and obediently set to work on their appointed tasks. Within seconds the doors flew open and one of them dashed outside.

"Contact the Lombax fleet on a secure channel," he said to the one who remained. "Tell them to concentrate their fire on the mother ship's engines. Let me know when their propulsion is down."

"Got it."

Just then a rumble like thunder bellowed through the room and the floor shook more violently than ever before. "They're trying to pull away!" the engineer shouted, working furiously at his console. "The station's structural integrity is dropping!"

"Never mind that! Just get that message out!"

"What's your plan, sir?" asked one of the soldiers, practically shouting to be heard over all the noise.

Alister turned to his squad and explained as quickly as possible. "Once their engines are down they'll be sitting ducks. At that point we need to sever that cable so that they won't take this station down with them."

The second engineer came bursting back into the room with a crazed Rundak on his heels, and Alister nailed the creature between the eyes.

"Here," the engineer said, panting from fear and exhaustion. He thrust a heavy bundle into Alister's hands and breathlessly instructed, "I've already programmed it. Just push these two buttons at the same time and it'll explode in ten seconds."

"Thanks." In a loud voice Alister addressed everyone in the room, saying, "When those engines go, I want all of you to get out of this room and prepare to seal it off. If I don't make it to you within ten seconds, forget me. Understand?"

His soldiers eyed him with morose surprise, but nodded obediently. They resumed their post around the tether tube, fighting off the enemy forces that now emerged in a final desperation strike.

The tremors rocking the station worsened until Alister could barely stand. He braced himself against the tactical station next to the engineer and helped him keep his own footing while he kept his eyes glued to the panel, and they both struggled to tune out the screams, alarms, and grate of buckling metal.

"Hull stress is approaching critical!" the engineer grimly announced.

Alister swallowed, gritting his teeth. _Come on... break!_

All of a sudden the tremors stopped. "Their engines are down!"

"Everyone get out! Now!"

The squad of Lombaxes flooded toward the doors, sweeping up the two engineers to carry them to safety. Alister didn't wait to see them gone. He looked resolutely up at the foreboding black mouth of the pipe, and took a sharp breath as he positioned himself under it and ignited his hoverboots. He blasted them at full power to give himself a strong upward thrust, and he was propelled into the pitch black interior of the Dakari mother ship's metal esophagus. He pressed the two buttons on the bomb in his hand, and at the pinnacle of his momentum he pitched it up as hard as he could. Then he let himself tumble backwards and ignited his boots once more to hasten his descent. Ironically, he found himself plummeting towards a light at the end of a tunnel.

As he fell from the tube back into the station he pulled up his legs and thrust his body into the standard hovering position. Without stopping he leaned forward and raced toward the exit, praying it wasn't too late.

He barreled through the door and dove into a hairpin turn that found him sprawled on the floor beside one of his soldiers, who promptly shouted, "Now!"

Alister heard the sound of force fields going up, followed milliseconds later by a loud explosion. Had he not already been on the floor, Alister would have been sent to his knees by the resulting jolt. The rest of his comrades were. When the noise died down and the shaking had ceased, Alister looked up to see the relieved faces of half a dozen Lombaxes staring down at him.

"You made it!" one of them exclaimed happily, offering a hand to help him up. Alister grasped it with a smile and let the strength of the soldier's grip draw him to his feet.

It was too soon to drop their guard, though. The squad rushed to the main research lab, where they discovered to Alister's welcome surprise that the surviving crew of the Echelon had successfully fought off the onboard invaders. After a brief exchange of ecstatic greetings, everyone present turned their attention to a gigantic view screen that displayed the space battle raging outside.

Moments later, they witnessed the destruction of the Dakari mother ship. The room immediately erupted into a chorus of cheering and celebrating, with high-fives and aggressive hugs being passed around like party favors.

Alister, however, could not so enthusiastically participate. He let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to his knees in a relaxed heap, but that was the extent of his celebration. Now that the dangers of battle were past, his thoughts turned to the one who had made this triumph possible, and no joy could take form inside him.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The weeks following the victory at Havilah Station passed in something of a blur. Alister barely reacted when he was lauded for his exceptional performance and quick thinking during the battle, and he couldn't even muster up a smile of gratitude at being promoted several ranks. Long past his feelings of insufficiency, now his heart was consumed by grief. No matter how warmly and frequently he was reminded of how much had been gained on that day, it all seemed insignificant compared to what had been lost.

The losses to his squad alone were enough to depress him, but when he saw the casualty report for the whole battle his throat clenched in sorrow, and he felt sick to his stomach... And then, of course, there was one casualty that represented a very personal loss to him.

Alister remembered his mentor's manner—his rough grip, his harsh voice, his ridiculous expectations... and his rare, proud smile. Raiken was a soul who understood pain. He understood loss, he understood injustice, and because of that, he understood sacrifice. Alister thought back to how his face had looked in the moments when he had decided to seal his own doom for the sake of the greater good. There wasn't a _trace_ of hesitation in his eyes.

Alister heaved a mournful sigh as he staggered into the small room inside his barracks that he shared with a few other soldiers, relieved when his glance around revealed no one else inside. He was tired of trying to hold it all together. No one, however seemingly unshakable, could be strong all the time. He had learned that much from Raiken, who also taught him how important it is for a leader to feign strength when it is lacking, for the sake of those under him. A soldier's subordinates should never see him flinch, let alone cry.

Exhausted from effort and heartache, he collapsed on his bed and buried his face in the sheets to muffle his faint sobs. How he longed for someone to confide in... someone with whom he wasn't obliged to keep up this cursed facade of invulnerability.

And as he wished it, the tide of memory washed in another smiling face, from long before he'd ever been graced with the smile of his mentor. It felt like a wrench had turned in his stomach as new tears flooded his eyes. Up until now, and for a full year back, he hadn't even had even had time to think about how much he missed his best friend.

_Kaden... it's been so long._

He got up and pulled open his bottom drawer, looking inside at the little communicator box that still rested there, dusty from disuse. Since it wasn't standard issue, he wasn't allowed to wear it with his uniform, but he hadn't had the heart to get rid of it. Unfortunately, neither had he ever again used it, even once. A wave of guilt swept over him, and he wondered sadly if his soul brother even remembered him anymore. He imagined Kaden repeatedly calling, wanting to ask after his health and offer encouragement like the wonderful friend he was, only to wait fruitlessly while Alister's comm unit beeped unheard at the bottom of a chest of drawers.

He reached inside and picked up the device, handling it carefully like the precious treasure it was. How many memories were bound up in the bolts and gears of this quonky little gadget? He motioned to press the transmit button, but froze just short, suddenly hesitant. He wanted to talk to Kaden. Oh, how badly he _wanted_ to... but at the same time, he wondered if he should.

Even if Kaden still remembered and treasured their friendship the way Alister did, he would be past eighteen by now. He would have no doubt been married for over a year, and might even have a family already. He didn't need the weight on Alister's shoulders burdening him as well. Why interrupt his happy life with depressing news of war and bloodshed?

Alister heaved yet another sigh as he resigned himself to suffering in loneliness. He would just have to bear up under his pain until he learned to ignore it.

"Hello?"

Alister started in surprise, almost dropping the communicator for the soft voice that emanated from it without warning.

"Anybody there? It's me... Kaden."

Alister's breath caught in his throat, and he sat there frozen, staring at the device in his hands as though it were a ghost. Kaden patiently waited for an answer, calling Alister by name and asking if he was there. Alister wanted to reply, but he knew that if he said anything to Kaden his whole heart in all its current brokenness would come pouring out, and his former conviction held firm. He bit his lip regretfully during a long silence, after which Kaden sighed and muttered. "Al, I have a feeling you're there, but it's fine if you don't want to talk... I just wanted to see how you were doing, and let you know that—I haven't forgotten about you."

Alister stifled a gasp, amazed again at Kaden's wisdom and kindness. With a tender, somewhat disappointed voice, the young Lombax said, "So... Goodbye, I guess. Hope you're okay."

In a sudden rush of instinct Alister snapped the communicator up to his mouth, pressing the button and urgently pleading, "Kaden, wait!"

"Alister? Al, is that you?"

Alister swallowed hard, holding his tongue for a few dreadful seconds while trying to decide what to say.

"I..." he struggled out, fighting back tears. "I haven't forgotten about you, either."

Before there was a reply he cut the signal and collapsed on his bed with a gasp-like sigh, his heart heavy... but a bit lighter than before.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- _"Red alert! All hands to battle stations!"__—_ Some of you may or may not have noticed the heavy Star Trek influence in this installment. ^^' It was unavoidable, I'm afraid, considering the circumstances of the chapter and what was going on. I tried to make the language and terminology I used as different as possible, but a lot of my inner Trekkie ultimately leaked through, nonetheless. I don't know whether this is a bad thing or not, but there it is.**

**- _The Formal Military__—_ I think I mentioned once before my insecurity about writing for a military setting. This is because I have a heart for the military and a strong passion for seeing it accurately portrayed in fiction... but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm an expert on how they do things. ^^' If this story was set in real life and I was dealing with an actual human military, I probably wouldn't even attempt to write it without doing some _serious_ research... But since this is a sci-fi setting, and I don't have time for serious research, I'm just gonna plead ignorant and do the best I can with the limited knowledge I've gleaned from listening to my Dad recount his boot camp days and watching war movies with him and my brother.**

**- _The Dakari, Rundaks, and Havilah Station__—_ In case anybody's not sure, yes, I made all these up for the sake of the story and they have no base in the games... You should've seen me trying to come up with names for all of them. *-***

**- _Theme Song: "Devastation and Reform" by Relient K_— This song somewhat describes how Alister feels in this chapter.**


	9. Proximity of the Soul

**Foreword: **

**I enjoyed writing this chapter, because it's both essential plot and essential character development. It's not all that exciting, but hey, this stuff needs to happen _sometime_. ^-^ The title might be a bit cheesy, but I sort of like it, and I couldn't think of anything else. #_#**

* * *

_"...and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you."_

— _Romans 1:10b_

« _..._ »

"Wow..." Kaden muttered in awe, staring out the windows of the space shuttle at the urban metropolis below as it flew by. Architecture here was dense and advanced—the sleek, round-edged style signature to Lombax civilization prevalent everywhere. Odd contraptions resembling solar mobiles and astrolabes poked willy-nilly out of every other domed roof, as if for decoration, but Kaden could tell just by looking at them the purposes they served. The uneven, canyon-laden terrain of the planet's surface equated to great variety in the shapes and sizes of the buildings. Some peaked straight up into the clouds while others were flat and round, and still others spiraled up from the ground in a helix. Power lines and plasma conduits were threaded to and from structures every which way, as though the whole city was meant to function as a machine. Kaden recognized his people's trademark from the place where he grew up, but even so... the glory of _this_ place made the settlement on Lumos look like a shanty town.

"Haven't you ever been to Fastoon before?" asked a Lombax behind Kaden, almost rhetorically. He was seated along an interior wall, flanked on either side by two other Lombaxes. They looked across the aisle at Kaden like they were puzzled as to why he would want to stand with his face pressed to the window when there were perfectly good chairs at his disposal.

Kaden turned to face them and quietly admitted, "No."

The brown Lombax looked surprised, as did the two similarly colored ones beside him. "Oh," he muttered, trying not to sound condescending, but without total success. Kaden reminded himself of their names from when they had introduced themselves a few hours ago. The one in the middle was Hadrian, to his right was Alvar, and to his left, Casey. They had looked surprised when they saw him step aboard the transport—far more so, in fact, than they looked now—and at first Kaden didn't realize why. But once they asked him how old he was, he understood at once. Although they said nothing of the sort, Kaden knew what they were all thinking: _"How did a kid like you get in on this?"_ They were all at least fifteen years his senior, and evidently that much more cultured as well. Perhaps they were insulted that someone so young had qualified for the same honor they had. Perhaps they were intimidated. Whatever the reason, it was apparent to Kaden that they all resented him for being there with them, on that ship bound for Fastoon, when he was barely twenty years old.

Even so, Kaden was determined not to get spooked by their coldness. They were supposed to be a team, after all. As long as they didn't flat-out reject him, he would do his best not be completely alienated from them. At least they were _trying_ to treat him with respect.

Looking back out the window, he saw their destination coming up fast. He recognized the Center for Advanced Lombax Research from pictures, but seeing it with his own eyes completely redefined his understanding of how spectacular it was— at least a dozen of the most impressive, technology-laden buildings in sight, all clustered together and surrounded by a security barrier that looked like it could atomize anything that came near it. Kaden was both excited and nervous as the ship approached the clearance checkpoint. This time, however, he kept his awe and his nerves to himself, and just let the magnitude of the moment sink in while his pulse quickened in anticipation.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister was careful not to let his lips curl into more than a faint smirk as he walked toward the orientation room. He didn't want to seem too eager. The spacious, well-lit corridors of the Center's testing facility were bustling with Lombaxes of every conceivable age and color, clad in protective clothing that varied from space suits to flame-retardant scuba gear. Some of them didn't even notice him as they rushed about their business. Others acknowledged him respectfully. Newer faces seemed surprised to see him there at all, which hardly surprised _him_. It wasn't common for a soldier to be roaming the halls of the C.A.L.R. Those who had been around for a while, however, understood Alister's presence there. They knew him as the resident overachiever, who wasn't satisfied to simply soar through the ranks of the Lombax Pretorian Guard, but also had his eyes set on the Council for the most prestigious research center on Fastoon. A difficult feat for someone who wasn't actually a scientist, but if anyone could pull it off, it was him. After all, his savvy in practical application of technology was unparalleled.

Today wasn't about him, though. Today was special. Today he was determined to forget about all the depressing reasons why he felt he _needed_ to aim so high in his career, and instead focus on the best thing that had happened to him in three years... or rather—was _about_ to happen.

It was a miracle he'd even been allowed to know about this plan, so he realized he was pressing his luck by asking to be a part of its execution. Still, he couldn't help but try. When he saw the list of engineers who had been selected for the program, one name stood out from all the others, and he was instantly speechless. Thankfully all the favors he was owed by the high-ups at the Center held enough weight to earn him this small but sensitive place in the scheme of things.

When he arrived at the orientation room he peered through the glass and quietly surveyed the inside. Four of the candidates were already present, and the ship bearing the remaining four had landed a few minutes ago, according to the intercom. Momentarily a door on the opposite end of the room opened, and sure enough the awaited party filed inside, where they each took a seat around the oblong table and began to converse among themselves.

There he was... Kaden. He looked exactly the same as he had when last Alister saw him three years ago—same lean build, same bright eyes. He hadn't aged a day. Alister wondered if he had changed at all _under_ the surface—if three years of being married had tempered his liveliness. He couldn't possibly be the same danger-loving daredevil that he was as a kid, could he?

Taking a deep breath, Alister opened the door, and stepped confidently into the orientation room. All eyes turned to him and the present discussion stopped cold. Kaden gasped and almost jumped to his feet, but Alister shot him a sharp glance. Kaden took the hint and instantly closed his mouth and settled back into his chair, but Alister could tell he was having a hard time of reigning in his surprise. His eyes were bursting with unspoken delight, and he bit his lips to keep it from coming out in words.

A few of the other engineers looked at him curiously after this odd almost-outburst, and Alister empathized completely, as it was just as hard for him to restrain himself. He wasn't able to keep a smile from leaking out, so he averted his eyes and let it go out to the collective group as a cordial salutation.

"Greetings, candidates, and for those of you who just arrived, welcome to the Center for Advanced Lombax Research," he said in a polite, neutral tone. "I'm Sergeant Major Azimuth, and I'll be your escort today. You have been recognized as the most promising engineers of our time, and selected to fulfill a vital duty. As you know, twenty-five years ago eight of the greatest engineers in the history of our race designed and built a machine that defeated the Cragmites and ended the Great War. God willing, we will never again have to use that machine. Nonetheless, it is the most important invention in Lombax history, and as such there must always be someone alive who can operate it. This honor has fallen to you. Congratulations. Are there any questions before we proceed?"

Kaden raised his hand.

"Yes?" Alister said, trying not to laugh.

"When do we actually get to _see_ this thing?"

Alister let one corner of his mouth raise into a half-smile and casually stated, "Today."

« ... »

Alister kept his head high and his eyes fixed straight ahead as he silently led the team of engineers deeper into the Center's most sensitive areas, past dozens of Lombaxes that stared jealously at those privileged few. He heard an uneven pattern of steps behind him, and cocked his head to the left to see Kaden fall into step at his side.

"So, um... Major Azimuth—"

"That's 'Sergeant Major,'" Alister corrected. "If I'm lucky, I'll be a Major five years from now."

"R-Right..." Kaden muttered. "Well, I hope it's not too bold to ask, but I was wondering... What's a soldier doing in the Center for Advanced Lombax Research briefing a bunch of engineers?"

Alister smiled and coyly said, "An old friend of mine made me realize that technology and warfare go hand-in-hand."

"Wow. He must be one heck of a guy," Kaden commented.

"That he is. In fact, he invented the Cryomine Glove that Grummelnet released last month."

"No kidding!"  
"Not at all. Rumor has it he built the original prototype when he was sixteen years old."

Kaden made a face and distastefully muttered, "Sounds like a nerd."

"Takes one to know one," Alister retorted. Suddenly he cleared his throat and banished the familiarity from his face, reminding himself of where he was and the seven strangers trailing behind him. He could just imagine the bewildered expressions on their faces right now, and resisted the urge to turn around and look. Once again, Kaden took the hint, and quietly fell a few steps behind. Though he maintained his aloof front, Alister was smiling inside.

Momentarily they arrived at an impressive metal door barring the large entrance to an even larger room. It looked as though even an Agorian hydra tank wouldn't be able to put a dent in it, and it was girded by the most advanced security system in the galaxy. Alister turned to face the group and gestured to this impregnable entryway as he proceeded to explain.

"On the other side of this door is a piece of our history, and your future. Naturally, everything that you are about to see and learn is strictly confidential and what happens in this room is not to be carried beyond these walls. Am I clear?"

The team agreed in unison, and Alister nodded his approval and turned back to the door. He punched in his security clearance, then stepped back and watched as the great gate receded slowly into the ceiling. The eight Lombaxes filed solemnly into the room, last among them Kaden, and he turned to look at his friend with a smile as he slowly passed by.

"Good luck," Alister said, addressing the whole group, but with his eyes on one of them in particular.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden murmured incredulously as the door fell closed before his eyes. Back when he had stepped off the ship and lost his breath at the sight of the Center's spectacular interior, he was already beginning to wonder if being here was a dream. Now, after seeing his life-long best friend for the first time in three years, he felt even more uncertain. He closed his eyes and pinched himself, wincing from the sharp pain, then turned around and looked at the sight before him.

The room he was in was large and domed, with pulsing yellow lights streaking down from the ceiling to the floor in a spiral. Machines and work stations of various unknown function lined the circular walls, but the floor in the middle was free and clear, except for Kaden's group who had just come in, and eight more older Lombaxes besides who must have already been present. Wearing both lab coats and tool belts, they regarded the new arrivals with smiles of professional greeting, and instantly Kaden knew who they were.

"Hello there," one of them said. He reached into his coat and pulled out a remote control of some kind. After he pressed a few buttons, a circular seam appeared in the center of the room, covering a radius about as long as Kaden was tall. Suddenly that section of the floor began to rise, carrying up with it a large, clear cylinder.

"Most alien races, and even most Lombaxes, believe that the weapon we used to defeat the Cragmites was an incendiary device of some kind, and that we literally 'vaporized' every life form on the Cragmite homeworld. The truth, however, is a bit more complicated than that."

As the scientist came to a pause in his speech, the clear cylinder ceased its ascension and the thing it housed came fully into view. It was one of the strangest-looking machines Kaden had ever seen—like a ridiculously oversized mining helmet with about five too many headlamps and what appeared to be (but probably weren't) metal earphones on either side.

"The Dimensionator," said another engineer. "As its name implies, it creates a portal leading from one dimension into another. It is with this ability that we were able to exile—not destroy—the Cragmites."

"Wait a minute," Alvar interjected worriedly. "You mean, the Cragmites are still alive somewhere?"

"Yes," the engineer confirmed with a snide smile. "They _are_ alive—in a dimension where time passes at a rate of one day for each of our years."

Alvar relaxed while his new comrades indulged in a brief chuckle at his expense, and the engineer seamlessly continued his explanation.

"Over the course of the next twenty-four months, you will be undertaking an extensive study of the device's mechanics, science, and general inner-workings. At the end of this period, you will be given a final evaluation, which will determine whether your training has adequately prepared you. Whichever of you scores highest in this evaluation will be given the title of 'Keeper,' and that individual will, if they accept the position, rank as the leader of this team and be ultimately responsible for managing the Dimensionator's operation in the event that it is ever again needed."

He paused for a short moment to let his words sink in, then solemnly added, "I'm warning you—this training will be extensive and difficult. There will be no 'off-time' for you to go on vacation or visit loved ones, so for the next two years, you will essentially be slave to this machine. Are you lot ready for this?"

The rest of the candidates nodded respectfully, but Kaden excitedly blurted out, "You bet!"

The design team chuckled among themselves while Kaden looked curiously around at his team members, who eyed him with stern rebuke.

"All _right_, then," said another of the veteran engineers. "Let's get started."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister stared out the huge wrap-around window of the observation lounge, taking in the view of the city bathed in hazy twilight. He wondered if it was late enough yet. Surely they had to be finished by now. It was only the first day, after all. Quietly he turned around and made his way to the elevator, which he instructed to take him to D Level, and from there he proceeded toward the section of the building where guest quarters were located.

The day was winding toward its finish, but that didn't mean the Center was any less alive than it was in the morning. Hallways were full of tired workers preparing to head home, as well as fresh faces ready to tackle the graveyard shift. Activity bustled all about Alister, and he was glad for the crowd to lose himself in, but he hoped no one would ask him where he was heading or what he was doing. While he wasn't exactly trying to keep his history with Kaden a secret, as a simple measure of prudence he _did_ plan to keep it on a need-to-know basis.

He walked down the hallways clutching his double-ended battle wrench in his left hand and scanning each passing door for the number he remembered from the room assignment bulletin. When he reached Kaden's room the door was wide open, and a look inside revealed info-pads and paper schematics littered all over the floor. With a smile and a raised eyebrow Alister made his way inside and took the liberty of closing the door—_after_ removing the clutter that obstructed it, of course. He glanced around the corner of the inside wall and immediately saw Kaden sitting at a desk, hunched over a huge blueprint that was pinned down at its corners by a random assortment of tools. His tail swung pendulously back and forth the way it used to whenever he was deep in thought. He was so focused, he hadn't even noticed someone coming in. Alister smiled and shook his head, glad for the reassurance that some things never change.

"Are you trying to make this place feel more like home," he asked sarcastically, "or are you really _that_ poorly organized?"

Kaden's ears perked and he turned around in his chair, laughing as he laid eyes on his friend. "My apologies, _Sergeant_ Major, sir," he replied in matching character. "I didn't realize there was a nightly inspection."

The two friends smiled at each other in contented silence for a long moment. It didn't need to be said aloud that things would never be the same between them—that moments like these when they could talk in private would be seldom, and also that no amount of privacy could bring back the carefree days of their youth. They were both grown now, with lives consumed by the cares and struggles of adulthood. Casual friendship was a thing of the past for them. Now they were colleagues, and as such they were obliged to maintain a couth and professional relationship.

Even so, their roots ran deep, and this also went without saying. They shared a bond that duty could only suppress, and times like these, however rare, would always remind them that it yet remained unbroken.

Finally Kaden asked in a casual, endearing tone, "How're you doing, pal?"

"Oh... as well as can be expected, I guess," Alister sighed. "The thrill of constant combat isn't as glamorous as the holo-films make it out to be..." He pulled up a foot stool and took a seat, setting his weapon down on the floor. Why he'd bothered to bring that thing, he couldn't say... Honestly, he was getting to where he felt naked without it.

"Well, it's not like you joined the military because you had delusions of grandeur," Kaden pointed out, absentmindedly swinging the wrench in his hand like it wasn't there. Alister was worried he might accidentally strike himself in the head with it.

"I know, but still..." Alister trailed off and evasively but honestly said, "I'd rather talk about _you_, Kaden. How's married life treating you?"

Kaden's relaxed expression tightened instantly, and the wrench in his hand stopped moving. He quietly set the tool down on the desk and looked away, muttering at half the normal volume, "Oh—good."

Alister snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Kaden, come on, you know you're not going to get off with 'oh, good.'"

Kaden leaned over the back of his chair to check that the door was closed, then turned to face his friend, grinning from ear to ear. "Alister, I married an _angel_," he exclaimed, making a serious effort to keep his voice down. "She's so... so kind, and helpful, and thoughtful... She's perfect. I still can't believe she's actually _mine_."

Alister was about to congratulate Kaden, when he noticed his face fall a bit, his smile weakening. "_But_...?" he prodded with unabashed concern.

Kaden looked up at him in surprise. "I didn't say any—"

Alister raised an eyebrow, and Kaden's denial fell apart on his tongue. Alister knew something was wrong, and Kaden knew there was no point trying to hide it. With a sigh the younger Lombax turned his head to stare off into space, and reminisced in a soft, distant voice.

"When I first proposed to Nayeli, I told her it could be temporary, but she said that she didn't want to take advantage of me... I remember around her birthday I kept thinking, now that she knew what it was like being married to me, she might have changed her mind about it being forever." Kaden hesitated there, and Alister blinked in surprise. He had never known _this_ part of the story. "One night she pulled me aside to talk," Kaden continued. "I was so scared of what she might say, I could hardly breathe... Then it turned out she—" (he paused to laugh at himself before continuing) "she wanted to plan our anniversary."

All the downheartedness in Kaden vanished for a brief moment as those words left his mouth. He chuckled with old, still-poignant relief, touching a fist to his forehead and shaking his head at the ground in self-admonition. "By now there's not a doubt in my mind that she intends to stay with me all her life," he assured, looking up at Alister with misty eyes. "But sometimes I wonder if that's really what she wants... What if I'm keeping her from her dreams? What if she's giving up her whole future just because she feels indebted to me?"

Alister said nothing, dumbstruck yet again by Kaden's selflessness, and the sheer strength of his character. Why any girl wouldn't be _thrilled_ to spend her life with him was indeed a mystery worth pondering.

"I don't know," Kaden muttered, looking away with a defeated sigh. "Maybe I'm just over-thinking it... But she's such a homebody, you know? She likes the quiet life, and taking her time, and staying in one place... We're complete opposites, me and her... I just don't see how she can be happy with someone like me."

A few seconds passed in somber silence, and as he stared in wonder at his dearest friend, Alister was reminded of a similar instance from long ago.

"Oh, Kaden..." Alister rebuked in a comforting tone. "You're _still_ not giving yourself enough credit."

Kaden smiled halfheartedly, grateful for the encouragement, but neither confirmed nor denied what Alister had said.

"Oh!" he exclaimed out of nowhere, smacking his fist against his open palm. "Before I forget..."

He stood up and dug around in a box of what-nots near his desk for a few seconds before pulling out a small holo-recorder. "I want to get a picture of us."

"Hmm..." Alister mumbled teasingly. "When did _you_ get so sentimental?"

"Just shut up and smile," Kaden replied. He pushed a button on the recorder so that it began hovering in mid-air, then grabbed his wrench off the desk and rushed to Alister's side. He pulled him to his feet, then crouched down once more and grabbed hold of his battle wrench, which he thrust into his hands, saying, "Here, hold this."

And there they were—Alister, a soldier, holding up his battle wrench, and Kaden, an engineer, holding up his work wrench—both of them smiling. As Alister stood there waiting for the holo-recorder to click, he found himself musing over what a contradiction their relationship was.

_ I've always been the cautious one, and you've always been the risk-taker... Who would've thought ten years ago that _I_ would end up in the military and _you_ would be the one getting married and settling down? ...And that the two of us would eventually end up back in the same place?_

Try as he might, Alister couldn't fathom _why_ things had happened this way. Regardless, he was glad to have Kaden back, if only for a little while, and in such fleeting moments as this one.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- _Alister's Rank__—_ Here's another note that applies to this as well as future chapters. Let the record show that I think the sheer speed at which Al is breezing through the ranks is somewhat ridiculous. I blame part of it on the timeline of the canon, since Alister obviously wasn't an old man in ACiT, but was already a General twenty years before that. If I had thought it through a bit more thoroughly in the planning stages, I probably could have pushed some of my major developments back a few years to alleviate the suspension of disbelief at least a bit more, but it's far too late to cry over _that_ spilled milk. At this point all I can do is beg for forgiveness and move on.**

**- _The Design Team__—_ If anyone is scratching their head over why I claim the Dimensionator was built only 25 years ago, I refer you to the note in the first chapter about _'The Timeline of the Great War.'_ I don't claim my interpretation to be absolutely correct—it's just the route I chose to go with this fic.**


	10. From Underneath

**Foreword: **

**As its title implies, this chapter is unassuming on the surface, but has some pretty important revelations lurking beneath the surface... Not that I expect anybody to be fooled. :P I don't know if anyone besides me is keeping track, but this is actually Nayeli's first appearance in the story since chapter 7. Translated into story time, that's the first time we've seen her in _four years_. #_# Poor thing... No wonder she's feeling lonely. :(**

* * *

"_Better is open rebuke than hidden love."_

— _Proverbs 27:5_

« ... »

Alister eased up on the helm and sighed thoughtfully as Planet Lumos came into view. Hard to believe he'd spent the first eighteen years of his life here and almost didn't recognize it from space. In truth, he had only come to and from the planet a few times in the past, and most of those times he had been too preoccupied with other things to pay attention to its appearance. Now that he was returning for sentimental reasons in a serene frame of mind, he paid closer attention to what it looked like. He was surprised to find that he thought it was beautiful. Even from this distance it was obviously a desert planet, but its abundance of mountains, canyons, and rolling hills gave its face an array of textures in all shades of gray and brown, while the few spots of water and swirling clouds added soft splashes of white and blue to the picture.

Alister smiled as he entered the landing sequence and began his descent. This place might not be home anymore, but it sure housed a lot of memories... and one in particular was his whole purpose in coming here.

_ "How is she doing?" _he'd asked Kaden during one of the many conversations in which the young engineer mentioned his estranged wife.

_ "All right, I guess..." _Kaden replied with little conviction._ "Nayeli doesn't like me having to spend such a long time away from home. She never complains, though... When we talk she doesn't ask me when I'm coming home or why I can't come visit—just says, 'I miss you...' Makes me hate myself."_

Alister landed his ship out in the unclaimed desert several miles away from the Lumos settlement. He wanted to avoid the hassle that would certainly follow if he landed in the official port where they would want to know his name and what he was doing there. This visit was meant to be casual and informal, and most definitely quiet.

He hopped out of the ship, ignited the hoverboots that he now wore almost everywhere, and blazed a fresh trail toward his old stomping grounds, drinking in distantly familiar views that filled him with warm nostalgia. Once in town it took him a while to find Kaden's house, since, even though he knew where it was, he'd never actually seen it before. When they were kids Kaden had practically lived in his workshop, and Alister still wasn't completely clear on whether he had a house before or after getting married. When at last Alister located the place, he had to stand back and look at it for a few minutes. It wasn't exactly a mansion, but it was no shack, either. The idea that spunky, street-wise Kaden lived in such a nice place was amusing somehow.

Presently Alister stepped up to the front door, and took a deep, thoughtful breath before knocking. A few seconds later soft footsteps sounded from inside, and the door swung open to reveal a damsel with deep blue eyes and cream-colored fur.

"Alister?" she greeted, her face lighting up with welcome surprise.

Alister had to blink a few times and let the sight of her sink in before he could answer. "Hello, Nayeli."

In fact, Alister thought she looked almost exactly as he remembered her from his teenage years, except a bit more—mature? She had always been pretty, but now she looked less like a girl and more like a woman, and a _gorgeous_ woman, at that. Apparently the girl still favored simple, modest dresses, and the one she wore now graduated from a dark purple at her shoulders to a pale lavender near her ankles, accenting her natural beauty without need of fancy embellishments. Alister kept himself from taking too careful notice of her other features by turning his focus instead to the ring on her finger. He was glad to see that she was wearing it.

"I'm so surprised to see you!" she exclaimed. "Come in, come in!"

One look at the house's interior, and Alister could tell that Nayeli handled the decoration. Everything was very tasteful and neatly organized, and there wasn't a gadget in sight. Nayeli led him into the living room and they sat across from each other on a pair of comfortable chairs.

"So, what brings you here?" Nayeli asked. "I haven't heard from you since you left Lumos."

"Well, now that Kaden and I are back in touch, I thought I'd come see how _you're_ holding up. He's worried about you."

Nayeli smiled halfheartedly. "It seems like he doesn't worry about anything except me," she muttered in a forlorn voice. "I wish he'd worry about himself a little..."

Alister didn't know how to respond to that, and ended up just staring wonderingly while the next few seconds passed in silence.

"I'm sorry," she said, returning to herself with a shake of her head. "Can I get you something to drink? Do you still like wormroot nectar tea?"

"You remember that?"

"Of course," she said with a smile, and promptly stepped into the kitchen. Alister couldn't help but watch her as she went about her task, so graceful and meticulous, and such a contrast to Kaden. An image of Kaden preparing tea popped suddenly into his mind, almost causing him to laugh. He had to rein it in for fear of having to explain himself. A few minutes later Nayeli returned holding a steaming cup in either hand, and she gave one to Alister before returning to her seat.

"So..." she muttered awkwardly, "how are you doing?"

Alister smiled and said, "Nayeli, you can go ahead and ask me what you want to ask me."

Nayeli looked surprised and embarrassed at first, but shook it off and compliantly said, "H-How is Kaden doing?"

"He's the same as always," Alister replied. "I was surprised... I thought three years of being married would be enough to—mellow him a little."

"You mean _tame_ him?" Nayeli offered with a knowing grin.

"Well, I wouldn't put it so bluntly."

Nayeli giggled, and then her expression grew serious as her eyes wandered to the floor. "Kaden is a free spirit," she said. "No one can tame him, and I'm glad for that. If I had that kind of power over him, I would hate myself for it... It's still hard, though—always wondering if he's safe, or what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into."

"Now you know what it was like growing up with him," Alister interjected, trying to lighten the mood. "I thought I'd never forgive myself for introducing him to Hoverball."

Nayeli questioned through a genuine laugh, "Was he _ever_ mellow?"

"Only around you."

"Oh..."

The silence returned. Finally Nayeli asked, "How long did he... you know, before—?"

"Since the day he first saw you—when he was fourteen, I think."

"Why didn't he ever...?"

Again she trailed off without finishing the question, and again Alister intuited the answer. "He didn't think you needed him. He would never pursue a relationship with you if he couldn't contribute something to your life. That was his resolve. It's just the kind of guy he is."

Nayeli stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide. "Wow... To think, all that time I never noticed..."

"Nayeli," Alister ventured gingerly. "This is really none of my business, and my better instincts tell me I shouldn't even be asking..."

Nayeli just smiled and said, "You let me ask what _I_ wanted to."

Sighing uncertainly, Alister murmured, "Did you have any feelings for Kaden—_before_ he asked you to marry him?"

Nayeli was silent for a few seconds before answering. "No," she admitted. "I liked him as a friend; I had never even _considered_ that he might be more... But when I saw how much he was willing to do for my sake, and without expecting anything in return, I just... I mean, how could I _not?_ How could I reject someone who cared about me _that much?_ So, feelings aside, I decided I was going to love him because he loved me, and just hoped that the feelings would come in time..."

Alister waited a moment for her to continue, and when she didn't he carefully prodded, "_Did_ they?"

Nayeli looked over at him with a mild frown, like she was surprised by the question. "Of _course_ they did," she said, "That's the problem..."

"What do you mean?"

At that moment Nayeli clammed up worse than ever before, and appeared to be biting her lip as she closed her eyes and turned to face the ceiling. Alister watched her worriedly, but hesitated to speak. She was not the type to skirt around an explanation that was so clearly in order, and there was no need to press her any further when it was obvious she was troubled. Finally she opened her eyes and began to speak, still staring up at the ceiling as though her memories were being projected onto its cold surface.

"When Kaden was told he'd been selected for that program, he was more thrilled than I've ever seen him before. It made me happy to see him so excited... but then we found out that he had to spend two years in training on Fastoon, and that pretty much killed our enthusiasm. The first thing he said to me was, 'I don't have to go.' As if I would let him just throw away such an amazing opportunity..." She paused and let her gaze fall down to her hands clasping the teacup in her lap. She gripped it a bit tighter as she went on. "I didn't realize how attached I'd become to Kaden until I didn't have him with me anymore. I was okay for a while, but after the first month it started getting hard, hurting worse every day... I don't know if I can _take_ another whole year of this..." She choked back a sob and sniffled loudly, raising her head with as much dignity as she could muster. "But I _have_ to, for Kaden's sake, because he's always been so good to me."

A tear rolled down her left cheek, and she immediately reached up to wipe it away. At last she turned to face Alister, and he stared at her in dumbstruck wonder.

"Nayeli, I—I don't know what to say..." he shamefully admitted.

"It's okay..." Nayeli muttered. "I shouldn't be dumping all this on you, anyway."

"You _should_ be dumping it on Kaden."

"No!" she snapped worriedly, "Please, you can't tell Kaden I said any of this!"

"Relax; if I can help it, he won't even find out I came to visit you."

She inhaled deeply and sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Alister smiled, but followed up with the charge, "I still think you ought to tell him how you feel. Kaden loves you very much, Nayeli, and there's nothing he wants more than for you to be happy."

"I know that... which is why I have to be careful what I tell him. If he finds out how much I'm hurting over him, he'll feel _terrible_."

Alister followed Nayeli's lead and stared down at the surface of the untouched tea stagnating in his cup. After a long, thoughtful moment he softly challenged, "Would it really be so terrible for Kaden to know how much you care about him?"

Nayeli didn't respond, but she looked at him thoughtfully, and Alister could tell she had at least taken his words to heart.

After a short while during which little was said, Alister felt it was time he took his leave. At the door he bid Nayeli a gentle goodbye, and she thanked him for coming. Her smile as she waved was genuine, even though her eyes were sad, and she serenely retreated inside the house just before the door closed.

Alister fell deep into thought as he made the slow journey back to his ship on foot. He could have used his hoverboots, but chose not to as he wanted to leave himself the capacity for quiet reflection. When he'd set out to visit Nayeli, he hadn't been sure what he hoped to accomplish. Even now he wondered what, if anything, his little sojourn had changed. But at the very least, he was assured that the foundation of Kaden's marriage was far stronger than he had feared.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

"What component stabilizes energy flow from the primary reflux coil?" Corvin asked.

"Hmm..." Kaden stroked his chin for a few seconds, then snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "A three and three-quarters centicubit hexagonal washer!"

"Very good," Corvin complimented with a smile. "I don't suppose I should even _bother_ asking you about the function of the top spires."

"Honestly, I'm more interested to know the function of the boxing glove."

Corvin laughed heartily and said, "Now, I can promise you there _is_ a very important reason for that boxing glove. That's a lesson for next month, though. I think you've done more than enough for one day. Go get some rest. You have live training in the morning."

"Okay."

Kaden got up from his desk and headed for the door. As of the past hour the lonely classroom had been deserted except for him and his teacher. Corvin had been kind enough to stay late with him and help him review, and his kindness did not go unappreciated. The good-natured old geezer didn't seem to think it was necessary, but every time Kaden thought about how young he was compared to the other candidates, he felt like he must be horribly behind and needed to make up for it somehow. Before he got close enough to the door to trigger its automatic opening mechanism, he took a curious glance back at Corvin, who was still gathering together his teaching materials at the desk.

Taking a deep breath, Kaden respectfully called out, "Um... can I ask you something?"

The engineer looked up at him with soft old eyes and said, "Go ahead."

"Why did you pick me?"

Last year, when all the candidates had first arrived, they were each paired with one of the original builders for individual mentoring between periods of group instruction. For some reason, Corvin had singled out Kaden right away, which both honored and perplexed the young Lombax. He was the most inexperienced of all the trainees. Ergo, he had expected to be the last one picked, not one of the first.

Corvin looked into his pupil's eyes with mild surprise in his own. But then he smiled and simply answered, "Because you are a prodigy."

Kaden almost gasped in surprise, then shook his head and tried to laugh it off. "I wish you wouldn't joke with me like that."

"I'm dead serious," said Corvin, and the look in his eyes proved his words sincere.

Kaden's smile disappeared, and he could only stare at his teacher for a long moment while the old Lombax appeared to enjoy his astonishment.

"But—how can that be?" he muttered at last. "I'm just a kid compared to all the others."

"And yet you were recognized as one of the eight most promising engineers of our present generation."

Kaden had nothing to say to that. Corvin just nodded approvingly and said, "Good night, Kaden."

« ... »

The young engineer's thoughts were a jumble of questions and second-guesses as he wandered toward his room in a trance-like state. He doubted his ears, his memory, his sanity...  
_No way,_ he thought to himself. _I'm a... prodigy?_

Whether or not it was true, he was at the very least certain that his mentor, one of the original builders of the Dimensionator, held him in such regard. That in and of itself was enough to boost his self esteem and make him smile. Reminding himself not to get cocky, he went ahead and indulged in the sentiment that, maybe he deserved to be here after all.

He approached his first junction in high spirits, but the spring in his step disappeared when he saw the face waiting around the corner. Had he not been instantly frozen in his tracks, he might've plowed right into him.

"Oh, pardon me," said the—person—standing in front of him, in a cold voice that sounded bizarrely both reptilian and robotic.

Kaden recognized this stranger, even though he'd never met or even _seen_ him before. There could be no mistake for any Lombax, except perhaps one who knew nothing of his own species' history. It was Percival Tachyon, the only remaining Cragmite in the Polaris galaxy. Several years following the defeat of the Cragmite empire, a frozen but still living Cragmite egg was discovered by Lombaxes in the trillium mines of Kreeli Comet. What was to become of it had sparked great controversy, but ultimately it was decided that the unborn Cragmite, having had no part in the crimes of his kind and no choice in the matter of his origins, should be given the chance to live. Kaden agreed wholeheartedly with that decision, but was unsure whether it had been a good idea to raise him on Fastoon among Lombaxes, especially so soon after the Great War. Kaden could only imagine how such a growing environment would have affected the Cragmite's psyche—and he had sincerely hoped he would never have to find out first hand.

Tachyon looked him over with his beady yellow eyes and said in what Kaden could only assume was meant to be a friendly tone, "Well, now isn't _this_ a pleasant surprise? You're one of the Dimensionator trainees, aren't you?"

Kaden swallowed on pure instinct. "You—know about the Dimensionator?"

"Indeed, I do. I was told of its place in my history when I became a researcher here. The device is an object of great fascination to me—as an inventor, you understand."

"Of course..."

Kaden wasn't sure how he felt about Tachyon being entrusted with that sort of information, but he could understand why it might be deemed necessary to tell him. If he was to become a respectable member of society, there needed to be some level of trust between him and the race who had taken him in. And in any case, Kaden couldn't imagine he'd been told much more than the Dimensionator's name and basic function.

"What I wouldn't give to be in your position," the Cragmite muttered longingly. "Naturally _I_ could never be trusted with such an important machine... but I consider it an honor to be trusted at all. Perhaps one day I will be able to prove my loyalty enough to convince those who still doubt me."

The perturbed young Lombax tried not to stare, nor either to look away, but it proved difficult as he couldn't find a single feature of the poor wretch's appearance that was attractive in the slightest. Tachyon's head was a bulbous mass of pasty purple flesh with three odd protrusions that looked somewhat like a fin on top and antlers on either side. Several teeth stuck out of his mouth even when closed, apparently growing right out of his lips. His wormy body sported three sets of insect-like legs and a single pair of stubby arms that ended in tri-fingered hands which were more like claws.

Kaden sensed the awkwardness building in the wake of his inability to offer any sort of positive reaction, and muttered, "I'm sorry..."

"No need to apologize," Tachyon uttered dismissively. "I am accustomed to strange looks. It's only natural, considering my appearance and my—background. I am a Cragmite living among Lombaxes, after all."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"It has nothing to do with me. I cannot help the fact that I was born a Cragmite any more than I can help the fact that I was found and raised by Lombaxes. I do not resent your kind for their disgust toward me. Why, if it weren't for Lombaxes, I would not be here."

Kaden wasn't sure why, but just then he felt a shiver rush down his spine. He felt guilty for how coldly he was behaving toward this person who obviously deserved his utmost sympathy. It wasn't his intention, but he couldn't help the sad fact that Percival Tachyon was just plain creepy. Everything about him was repulsive—his face, his voice. It wasn't his fault, but it was the unfair truth nonetheless... And then there was the _way_ he spoke, which had an unnerving effect on Kaden that he couldn't explain, and that caused all his defenses to rise against his will.

"It must've been hard for you growing up," Kaden said, speaking from the genuine compassion in his heart.

Tachyon's ugly face twisted into an expression that couldn't be read. "I was a loathsome child," he stated bitterly.

Kaden wondered if he'd heard him right. It was possible, with the bend of his voice, that he had actually said he was a _lonesome_ child... but it sounded like he'd said 'loathsome.' He added in a milder tone, "But it's behind me now. I intend to rise above the circumstances of my upbringing."

Kaden's skin was crawling, and he was certain that he couldn't stand to be in Tachyon's presence for another minute. As politely as he could, he said, "Well, I—I wish you luck." And with that Kaden dipped his head in farewell and continued on his way, trying not to let his departure seem too hasty. What was it about Tachyon that made every red flag in his head go straight up? Was it simply the fact that he was a Cragmite? The fact that Cragmites had long oppressed every race in the Polaris Galaxy? Or just the fact that their very appearance was the stuff of nightmares?

Kaden shook his head in an effort to put the whole business out of his mind. He would simply head to his room as fast as possible, get some much-needed sleep, and try to forget all about his strange encounter with Percival Tachyon. For certain he pitied the poor creature, but secretly hoped that they would not cross paths often.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- _Young Tachyon__—_ *shudders* Okay, I'll admit: writing a young, low-profile, feigning-loyalty-to-the-Lombaxes Percival Tachyon was a bit of a challenge. Hopefully I've managed to portray him in a way that shows why most Lombaxes are suspicious of him (particularly Kaden), but also why he's allowed to work in such a prestigious place as the Center for Advanced Lombax Research. I'll also admit that I felt exactly the same as Kaden when I was writing that scene: totally creeped out.**

**- _Tachyon's History—_ I tried to follow the canon as much as possible with this, but the games are a wee bit vague about the details of Tachyon's upbringing. I think he was found in the Kreeli Comet, but I'm not sure... I did my best, at any rate.**


	11. A Thousand Miles

**Foreword: **

**This is the only chapter in the whole story that happens from Nayeli's viewpoint, which makes it, as my sister would say, the 'slap-pot.' For those who don't understand what that inside joke means (AKA: _everyone _XP), this chapter is all romance and no action. That's right— no fights, no bad guys, no ultraviolet heat rays... but _darned_ if it doesn't make me melt into a pile of goo anyway. :3 FYI: the name 'Nayeli' means 'I love you,' and believe it or not, I actually didn't know that when I picked it for her. ^-^**

* * *

"_I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him."_

— _Song of Songs 3:2_

« ... »

It had been twenty months now since Kaden had left to begin his training. That meant there were only four months left. Four months... _Only_ four months... It still felt like an eternity away.

Nayeli tried to keep her head up as she walked somberly through the busy streets of the Lumos settlement, imagining she was on Fastoon, where the buildings were taller and the streets even busier. She had been born and raised on that planet, but Kaden had grown up _here_. How ironic that their positions were now completely reversed. She wondered what Kaden's reaction had been like when he'd first arrived there. An engineer like him must have been enraptured at finding himself in the hub of Lombax technology and architecture. She wondered if he even missed home. No doubt he was much better suited to the pace of life in the big city.

If only she could have gone there with him. She would have gladly returned to her roots if it meant staying by his side... but he was living inside the Center, where she wasn't allowed to set foot. Even if she'd followed him to Fastoon, she would scarcely have been able to see him any more than she was seeing him now.

Over the past few months their holo-net contact had diminished until she scarcely heard from him anymore, and she could tell it was because the training schedule was getting more and more restrictive on his time. When they'd last spoken two weeks ago she had, with a heavy heart, told him not to bother calling her again until his training was complete. Kaden's resulting expression looked sad, and... shocked. "O-Okay..." he'd responded sadly. It was the last time Nayeli had heard his voice.

A deep, dejected sigh escaped her throat against her will, and she stopped in her tracks to stare up at the sky. All she could think was that her husband was out there somewhere, working hard, chasing his dream. A while back she had gotten in the habit of pondering nervously over what he would be like when he came home. Two years in a new environment tackling such an important undertaking were bound to change him, right? Yet, whenever she spoke to him, he was the same Kaden he always had been. He still smiled. He still laughed... He still enjoyed babbling a mile a minute about the technical details of his studies, even though it was obvious Nayeli didn't understand a word of it. It always eased her nerves to know that he was still the same kind, fun-loving guy she'd married.

Nayeli stood there staring at the sky until she forgot where she was. It wasn't until a familiar voice called out her name that she snapped back to reality. Turning to the right, she noticed a face she hadn't seen in quite some time rushing toward her, pushing her way through the crowd.

"Callista?" Nayeli muttered.

The girl tackled her with a hug when she reached her.

"Nayeli, where have you been?" she exclaimed, clutching both of Nayeli's hands in her own. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

A stinging guilt suddenly washed over Nayeli. It was true. The attack on Lumos four years ago had turned her world upside-down, and a lot of the people she'd been close to had phased one-by-one out of her life. For most of her first year of marriage she was grieving the loss of her parents, and even Kaden hadn't felt close to her back then. Sensitive to her pain, he had kept himself an arms length from her—never too close for comfort, but never far away. He was her rock; she hadn't needed anyone else... Still, that was no excuse for forgetting those who had mattered to her before him.

"I, um..."

She couldn't bring herself to say any of the words burning on her tongue right now, so she just clumsily offered, "Would you—like to come over? To my house, I mean... and we can talk there."

Callista looked at her face with concerned understanding, then smiled and said, "All right."

« ... »

When they arrived at the house, Nayeli ushered her friend to the sofa and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry I fell out of touch with you," she said, getting right down to it after the awkwardly silent walk through town to get here.

"Hey, it's okay," Callista reassured, resting a hand on Nayeli's shoulder. "I understand. After what happened, there was no way things could have stayed the same between us."

Nayeli knew Callista was trying to offer comfort, but her words failed to uplift.

"So, how have you been? Are you still married to—"

"Kaden."

"Yeah, _him_."

Callista seemed to stiffen when Kaden was mentioned, and Nayeli suddenly remembered what was probably the biggest reason why they had lost contact. The girl never had warmed up to Kaden, and apparently she harbored her deep-rooted distrust of his character even to this day. Nayeli tried not to let it bother her. She understood why Callista, as well as many other friends and acquaintances, had found it hard to believe that Kaden's motives for wanting to marry her were pure. After all, she had found it hard to believe herself at first.

"Yes, we're still married," she replied. "Right now he's on Fastoon, training to—"

"He's on _Fastoon?_" Callista interrupted. "For how long?"

"Four more months."

"What about in total?"

"Uh... Two years."

"Two ye—" Callista cut herself off, taking in a sharp, furious breath and looking away. "That _jerk!_"

Nayeli felt her heart sink. She should have been more careful how she presented this information. "Callista, it's not like that—"

"What, did he think you wouldn't _mind_ being left alone for two years?"

"I told you, it's not that simple! He was—"

"Oh, come on, Nayeli, how long have I known you? You're too innocent and good-natured to see fault in _anybody_. You'd rather let someone walk all over you than believe something bad about them. That's why you can't even see that Kaden doesn't care about you."

Callista might as well have punched her friend in the gut. Nayeli felt an almost physical pain at hearing such harsh things said of her husband, and it was even worse in the fact that they were being said by someone she cared for a great deal, and who was speaking out of mutual consideration.

"You're wrong, Callista!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes to shut out the image of her friend's unyielding face. "Kaden isn't like that!"

"Yes he is, Nayeli!" Callista insisted, sounding pained as well as angry. "Why don't you see that? Why can't I get you to _listen_ to me? You and I were best friends until he came along. He changed everything!"

"The _raid_ changed everything!" Nayeli countered. She could feel hot tears boiling behind her eyes. "I lost my family, remember? I was suddenly an orphan with nowhere to go, and Kaden was _there_ for me."

"_I_ was there for you! I was right there, trying to keep you from making a mistake that could ruin your life!"

"Kaden did _not_ ruin my life!"

"And yet here you are, coming apart at the seams waiting for him while he's off on some other planet. Be honest with me, Nayeli... What has he done to prove that he really, truly cares for you? When was the last time he even said 'I love you' to you?"

"I don't know!" Nayeli muttered defensively. "I don't keep track of things like that."

"He never does, does he?" said Callista. "Unbelievable... Why should you think he loves you if he never even _tells_ you so? What reason could he possibly have for that?"

"What reason...?"

For once Callista kept silent and allowed Nayeli a long moment to think. Nayeli wanted to voice disagreement—to argue in Kaden's defense—but something about Callista's question worried her deeply. When _was_ the last time Kaden had told her something like that? Scanning her memory, she was disturbed to realize that the only time she could tangibly remember was on the day he'd asked her to marry him.

She recalled their conversation vividly...

_"Why would you do that for me?!" _she'd asked.

_"Because I love you" _was Kaden's reply._"It doesn't have to be permanent... We__ can break it off as soon as you're old enough to get along on your own.__"_

At some point, she was pretty sure she had said,_ "I could never take advantage of you like that," _and he had passionately replied,_ "Nayeli, __I don't mind! ...I just want to protect you."_

Then, a more recent memory came to her. The day Kaden had left for his training, he'd turned to her and said, _"Goodbye, Nayeli. I lo—" (he stopped mid-word and swallowed) "I'll lock up on my way out."_ After that he gave her a reserved hug, kissed her on the cheek, and then left in a hurry. She had been puzzled by that moment ever since. It didn't make sense to her. Despite Kaden's half-hearted farewell, his reluctance to leave her radiated from him with a strength that made her want to cry... It was like the affection was there, but for some reason he was hesitant to express it.

_ Are you holding back, Kaden?_ she wondered sadly._ Are you still leaving me an open door to walk away from you? Why? Why would you think—?_

She gasped as a horrifying realization exploded in her mind with the memory of one more question she'd been asked a few months ago. _"__Would it really be so terrible for Kaden to know how much you care about him?"_

Nayeli reached up and grasped at her heart, which beat furiously in her chest. Callista had said it herself just minutes ago, hadn't she? _"Why should you think he loves you if he never tells you so?"_

"Oh my..." she muttered, her eyes gaping at the floor. She turned to her friend and admitted in stunned disbelief, "Callista... I've never told Kaden that I love him."

"Maybe because you _don't?_" Callista questioned bitterly. "Wake up, Nayeli! You don't love him, and he doesn't love you. Meanwhile you're throwing away your life and all your other relationships because you're so obsessed with him."

"That's not true!" Nayeli already felt she would die of guilt, and the other girl's stubborn accusations weren't helping.

"No?!" Callista pressed. "Okay then, answer me this: if you had to choose between me and Kaden, who would you choose?"

Nayeli looked up at Callista with sharp, pained eyes and steeled her nerves, praying for courage to follow through with her resolve. "I would choose Kaden," she said in a flat, controlled voice. "Because he would _never_ ask me such a cruel question."

Callista was shocked silent, and she stared into Nayeli's fiery eyes, mouth slightly ajar. But the hurt look on her face quickly turned into a frown, and she gritted her teeth.

"Fine, then," she seethed, standing to her feet. "If _that's_ how it is..."

The girl stomped to the door and slammed it behind her without looking back, leaving Nayeli to break down crying on her sofa.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The days passed dreadfully slow, despite how hard Nayeli tried not to count them. She made sincere efforts to get back in contact with some of her other old friends, but found that most of them were busy with lives and problems of their own, and she didn't want to trouble them. She also feared more reactions like Callista's to news of Kaden's absence, and she didn't think her heart could handle the strain. Thus she found that her past friendships could not be rekindled to more than casual acquaintances. Even acquaintance was better than loneliness, though, and having people to talk to helped take the edge off being by herself all the time.

Nonetheless, her heartache persisted. It wasn't the loneliness that hurt her most—it was the separation. No other companion could replace Kaden. He was her other half. It was like he was in her blood, and being apart from him was like bleeding. She didn't know if it was healthy for her to feel that way, but she did. She couldn't help it. Still, no matter how she felt, she wouldn't let herself break down. She wouldn't allow her own feelings to take priority over Kaden's. She loved him too much for that.

She loved him... and every time she admitted that to herself, guilt seized her. How could she have loved him all this time and never put it into words? How could she have been so oblivious to how her lack of confession had been affecting her husband? All this time he was keeping his distance. All throughout those first three years, quietly watching her, barely touching her. He never knew how she felt about him, so for her sake he contented himself to simply stay by her side. To be her constant companion—and nothing more.

Many sleepless nights were filled with tears and groaning as she lamented her thoughtlessness. It was maddening how a question posed to herself could be so impossible to answer. Why?

_Why didn't I ever tell him? Why didn't I notice that something was wrong?_

Callista was right about one thing: Nayeli was innocent to a fault, and now she was paying for that fault with her very heart.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Finally the long-awaited day was just around the corner, and Nayeli felt all her nerves coming unraveled as it got closer and closer. On the one hand she was ecstatic, and on the other, absolutely terrified. Even though she'd known Kaden for years, in a vague sense, she felt like the day of his return would be like meeting him for the first time—the first time since realizing how much he really meant to her, and how badly she had taken their relationship for granted.

One night she made the long walk out to Kaden's old workshop, and she could immediately understand why he had never come here without his hoverboots. The walk took hours, and by the time she arrived she was out of breath and exhausted. She didn't remember it being so hard when she came here six years ago for the simple purpose of helping him work on the ship that would become Aphelion. He already had feelings for her at that time, she thought with mixed stirrings in her heart, and tried to remember how he carried himself in her presence at the tender age of sixteen... What a gentleman he was, even then.

She stumbled inside the workshop and disarmed the security system he'd set up before leaving. When the defenses lowered she wandered further inside the messy little shack with her eyes fixed on its star occupant. Since Kaden had been taken to Fastoon in a transport ship, he had left his pride and joy back home, shut down and tucked safely away. He'd made it clear that Nayeli could use her anytime—though she had never needed to. Nayeli ran her hand over Aphelion's dusty left wing, then opened up her hood and reached into the engine to flip the switch that would bring her out of sleep mode.

The ship's engine rumbled to life, and Aphelion's familiar voice spoke out, "Good morning. What is our destination today?"

"No destination today, Aphelion," Nayeli explained. "I just wanted to talk."

"Very well. Kaden said you might be waking me up while he was gone. He instructed me to make sure you were well taken care of."

"That sounds like him," Nayeli muttered with a smile.

"What would you like to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't really know," Nayeli lied. "I'm just—anxious to see Kaden again. I'm not sure what I should say to him..."

"Well, I'm certain I don't have any advice for you about something like _that_," Aphelion said. "However, you are reminding me of a conversation I had with Kaden a few years ago."

"Really?" Nayeli asked, her ears perking with interest.

"Yes. I believe it was the night before the two of you were married. He told me he was afraid he might be making a mistake—that you might come to hate him."

"He said that?"

"Something to that effect, yes."

Nayeli swallowed the lump forming in her throat, and after a long pause simply said, "Wow..."

"When is he due back, if you don't mind my asking?" Aphelion politely inquired.

"In a few days."

"A few days?! No _wonder_ my engine feels rusty." Aphelion paused for a few seconds, then softly said, "It's really been two years, then? You must miss him..."

Nayeli was surprised at such an astute observation coming from a ship, of all things. Kaden really had made an incredible breakthrough with _this_ old girl. "More than I can say, Aphelion..." she answered.

After returning the ship to sleep mode, Nayeli re-armed the security system and stepped somberly outside. She took a long look at the sun setting beautifully behind the desert horizon and wondered what time it would be when she got home. It didn't really matter, though. At least this way she would have something to do to pass the long night hours instead of laying in bed unable to sleep.

She had just taken the first few steps when she thought she sensed movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head for curiosity's sake. The image drifting toward her must have been a mirage, because it looked like someone walking in her direction. She raised up her hand to visor her eyes from the sun and squinted hard to get a better look. A gasp of disbelief escaped her throat as she did so. Now she _knew_ it was a mirage.

"Hello?" she called out loudly. If she was just shouting into the breeze like a madwoman, she didn't care. She watched as the figure on the horizon looked up and raised his hand to wave at her, a warm smile painting his handsome face.

Nayeli's breath caught in her throat. "Kaden..." she muttered in barely a whisper, then called out at the top of her lungs, "Kaden!"

All the fatigue in her muscles vanished, and she flew across the desert sands like a gust of wind, repeatedly calling out her husband's name. She couldn't see his face as she approached, blinded by the wind in her eyes. Sense and reason abandoned, she threw herself at him, hearing only the sound of his voice as he gasped in surprise. Her momentum knocked him clear off his feet, and he struck the ground hard with his wife on top of him.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry..." Nayeli muttered, clinging to him like a fading dream.

"It's all right," he grunted, obviously still feeling the sting and dizziness of the blow. He wrapped his arms loosely around her and softly added, "I'm just glad I found you. I was a little worried when you weren't at the house..."

Nayeli pushed up against his chest so she could look at his face and babbled almost incoherently, "I wasn't expecting you until next week."

"Yeah, my transport was early," Kaden explained. "I forgot to call and let you know... Are you mad?"

Nayeli pressed her head once more against his chest, eyes moist with tears. Tightening her hold around his neck, she unsteadily muttered, "Why would I be mad? ...You're _here_."

Kaden squeezed her for a brief second, then stopped, and his arms fell away from her altogether. Nayeli felt a sharp pang of guilt as he pushed up against the ground and she was forced to let go of him so they could both sit up. On his knees, he looked into her eyes with a warm smile and tenderly stroked her cheek. "Sorry I made you wait so long."

At that the tears in Nayeli's eyes began pouring down her face, and after a few seconds' silence she faintly muttered, "Me too..."

"Huh?"

Nayeli cast down her face. She couldn't bear to look into his eyes any longer. They were too full of love and devotion and so many other things she didn't think she deserved. "You've been waiting for me, too, haven't you?" she murmured through her tears. "Ever since we got married, you've been waiting for me... and you're _still_ waiting..."

Kaden regarded her with a puzzled expression. "Nayeli, I'm—not quite sure what you mean..."

The girl bit her trembling lower lip and forced herself to look back up at him. "Kaden, there's something I need to tell you."

Kaden reached out toward her and gently grasped her shoulders to steady her. "What is it?"

It was a long time before she could muster up her voice, and even then, she could only speak in broken fragments. "I... You see—I, um... Well—"

She resented herself more with every passing second. Why was this so difficult? What was she afraid of? The words caught in her throat even though she knew with every fiber of her being that they were true. Why couldn't she just _say_ them?

A nervous look came over Kaden's face, and his ears began to droop. He was getting worried. "Nayeli? What's wrong?"

Indeed. What in the galaxy was _wrong_ with her? This was ridiculous. She was talking to her husband of five years who had been gone for two of them. Something like this should be as easy as breathing—but even breathing was hard for her right now.

"I—" she said, screwing her eyes shut and swallowing all her insecurities in a single gulp. "I love you."

As the words broke surface they opened the flood gates and started pouring forth like water from a breached dam. "I love you... I love you... I love you... I'm so sorry I never told you before! The truth is, I've been in love with you ever since we were married, and I—"

Kaden moved forward with a speed that knocked the breath right out of her, and suddenly she was in his arms. She gasped, and her heart leapt into her throat.

"Don't get the wrong idea..." Kaden muttered after a sharp inhale. "I just don't want you to see me cry."

Nayeli's shocked gasp was muffled by Kaden's shirt, but her eyes would have revealed her feelings even more obviously. "Why not?" she mumbled a few seconds later. "You've seen _me_ cry enough..."

"That's different..." Kaden insisted. "You're a girl."

She felt him reach for his face and listened to him wipe his eyes. Then he pulled back, still grasping her arms, and looked straight at her. His eyes were sparkling with joy and tears, and his smile could've melted stone. "You mean it?" he muttered in disbelief. "You're happy with me? You don't mind the—the way I am?"

"I _love_ the way you are," Nayeli answered. "I love waking up to the sound of heavy machinery in the morning. I love helping out with your tinkering and watching you while you work. I love seeing the look on your face when you finally finish a project... You're my Kaden... I don't ever want you to stop being who you are—anymore than I want to stop belonging to you."

Kaden smiled, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks without trying to hide them. This time he didn't hold back. This time there was no hesitation, or timidness, or worry. He drew her toward himself with strength and passion, and kissed her like he meant it—like he had on their wedding day. When at last he pulled away and drew her again into a tight hug, Nayeli thought she might faint. She melted in the warmth of his embrace, helpless to move and breathless to speak. To think that _this_ was what he'd bottled up all these years. She felt his right hand slip up her back and come to rest on her head. He tightened his grip all around her and held her against his chest, nuzzling her affectionately so that his breath tickled her ears. With tears streaming from her eyes, Nayeli pressed her face against Kaden's heart and felt its strong, steady beat against her cheek.

In that moment her own heart healed. Her other half was restored to her at last, and she was _whole_. She breathed in his scent and relaxed in his arms, remembering all the reasons why she loved him. Her only regret was waiting so long to let him know. Thankfully, she had the rest of her life to make up for it.

"I love you," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

"I love you too, Nayeli," Kaden replied tearfully.

How long they were there like that, Nayeli couldn't say, but it came to its untimely end when an unwelcome beeping cut through the beautiful silence.

"Aw, shoot! I forgot I was wearing this thing..." Kaden said, releasing Nayeli and looking at the device strapped to his wrist. He punched a button on it and snapped impatiently, "I'm busy! What do you want?"

"Kaden!" Nayeli sharply reprimanded.

"What? It's _Alister_."

Nayeli rolled her eyes and smiled.

"That's okay, Nayeli," said Alister through the small speaker on Kaden's wrist, jokingly adding, "He just got court-martialed, but it's okay... Anyway, I'm sure you two have plans, so I won't keep you. I just had to call because it happens to be my most solemn duty to announce the identity of the new Keeper."

Kaden froze, all the humor, annoyance, and emotion of any kind draining right out of his face along with all the blood. "No way..." he muttered in disbelief.

"_Yes_ way..." Alister countered, his tone proud. "Congratulations, Pal. I knew you had it in you. Over and out."

The signal went quiet, and Kaden and Nayeli were left sitting there in silent shock. Nayeli had heard enough about the training program in her past holo-net meetings with Kaden to understand the profound implication of that deceptively short exchange.

"Oh, wow..." she muttered at length. "Kaden, this is incredible! It's like—certification that you're the best engineer alive."

"Yeah, I know," Kaden murmured, his face stretched into an ecstatic grin. All of a sudden, however, his smile disappeared and he turned to look at Nayeli instead with a worried expression.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Kaden swallowed and muttered shamefully, "The Keeper has to live on Fastoon..."

"Oh."

"But I don't have to accept the position!" he said in haste. "Any of the others would be happy to have it, and the rest of the team can live wherever they want."

"Why would you need to do that?" Nayeli asked with a smile. "There's no problem. We'll just move to Fastoon."

Kaden raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You'd be okay with that?"

"Absolutely."

"But Nayeli, I—thought you liked it here."

"I _do_ like it here..." She reached out and caressed the side of his face, tenderly adding, "But I like it better where _you_ are."

The gratitude in Kaden's eyes right then was worth a thousand 'I love you's. Taking her hands in his own, he joyously said, "Nayeli... you're the _best!_"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Surprise, surprise, this chapter has a lot of theme songs. XP**

**- _"A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton__—_ This song was actually the original inspiration for this chapter (and its title), so of course I had to mention it.**

**- _"Blue Sweater" by Poema__—_ Would you believe that my mom knows Poema's dad and that I heard them sing this song at the release party for their first CD? XD Anyway, I think the song captures Nayeli's struggle with missing Kaden in a very beautiful way. I also think it's cool that this song also makes mention of 'a thousand miles.' ^-^**

**- _"Far Away" by Nickelback__—_ And this song is Kaden's side. The emotion it conveys is so strong and powerful... I had it on endless repeat when I was working on the 'I love you' scene. X3**

**- _"I'm Taking You With Me" by Relient K_— This one only applies to the very end there, but it's a sweet connection, nonetheless. :)**


	12. The Keeper

**Foreword:**

**If chapter 8 was the 'Star Trek' chapter, then chapter 12 is the 'Indiana Jones' chapter. :P Despite the fact that it contains some _very_ important development, to me this chapter feels a bit random and disjointed from the rest of the story. *-* Hopefully it's just in my head... But whatever the verdict, I get props for trying, because this chapter was _tough_ to write, and probably required more research than any of the chapters before it. DX Enjoy! :)**

* * *

"_Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."_

— _Matthew 7:7_

« ... »

Kaden sat pretzel-legged on the nose of his ship, thumping his tail rhythmically against the metal and trying his best to ignore the unreadable glances that flitted his way. Despite his thrill-loving nature, he had never been particularly impatient. Even so, it was difficult to sit still and wait when you knew you were being looked at. Kaden almost longed for the days when he blended right into a crowd and only his reckless teenage antics would cause him to be noticed.

Finally he saw the person he was waiting for rushing towards him from across the huge shipyard. He waved back, smiling excitedly and hopping to the ground. The man arrived out of breath, like he'd run all the way here from across the entire Center. He was a husky Markazian with a head of thick brown hair and a matching beard, and stood nearly a head taller than Kaden. He was wearing traditional safari garb as well as a huge backpack, its contents practically spilling out of the various rips and pockets that were visible. Kaden smiled at the sight of him, reminded of himself in a different profession.

"You must be my guide," he observed.

"Yes, sir!" the Markazian affirmed with a nod, gripping at the shoulder straps of his heavy load. "Guide, explorer, and historical collector, at your service!"

"Relax," Kaden chuckled. "There's no need to be so formal."

"My apologies—I'm just a little nervous... It's such an honor to be working with the Keeper of the Dimensionator."

Kaden gave an awkward smile. Even after six months living on Fastoon with his impressive new title, he still wasn't used to the celebrity status.

"Well," he muttered, "it's an honor to be held in such high regard, Mister—?"

"Apogee," the Markazian stated. "Max Apogee... but you can call me Max."

"All right then, Max, you can call me Kaden. I assume you already read my briefing about this trip?"

"Yes, sir! You're intrigued by the history of the Fongoids, so you want to explore some of the ruins on Planet Quantos to see if you can figure out—"

"You don't have to _recite_ the briefing, Max."

"Yes, sir... sorry."

"It's Kaden."

"Yes, sir... I mean—"

Kaden rolled his eyes and said with a chuckle, "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Right."

Kaden knocked on Aphelion's wing and her hatch popped open. Then he climbed into the pilot's seat and glanced over at his partner. Max looked a little surprised, but held his tongue and took his seat beside Kaden, who promptly pushed a few buttons, saying, "All right, Feel... you know the course."

"Affirmative," the ship responded. "Preparing for takeoff."

The hatch closed and seconds later the ship was airborne. As they left the Center behind and approached orbit, Max turned to Kaden and said, "I've never heard of a ship that could interact with its pilot like that."

"That's 'cause she's one-of-a-kind," Kaden replied proudly. "Aphelion is of a common series, but I designed and installed her AI myself."

Max whistled. "So, she's completely sentient, then?"

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," the ship pouted.

Kaden laughed and muttered, "_That_ answer your question?"

"Incredible!" Max marveled.

"Yup," he said, affectionately patting the console in front of him, "she's my little girl."

"Yeah, I have one of my own—not a ship, I mean! An actual little girl—not that there's anything wrong with being a ship, Aphelion!"

Kaden chuckled at Max's awkwardness, but was glad that he'd managed to steer the conversation in a more personal direction. He didn't want to be the superior on this venture—even though he technically _was_ the one in charge. He wanted this Apogee fellow to feel relaxed in his presence. To think of him as a colleague, or even a friend.

"Oh, really?" he interjected before his ship could comment. "How old is she?"

"Who? My daughter?"

Kaden nodded.

"Three months this week. I can already tell she's going to take after her mother, though." He cringed when he said that, like he was worried.

Kaden smirked and said, "Is that a problem?"

"No, not a _problem_," Max replied uncertainly. "My wife is just very... independent."

Kaden found that ironic. After observing Max's timid, awkward nature, it was almost comical to imagine he was married to a headstrong woman. It made him think of _another_ seemingly mismatched marriage he knew of.

"I guess it's true that opposites attract," he muttered with a shrug.

"You sound like you're speaking from your own experience."

"Well... let's just say I married my opposite, too... I only _hope_ that if we have children they take after their mother, because I doubt they'll live very long if they take after _me_."

"_You're_ still around," Max offered in jest, at last completely relaxed and unreserved.

Kaden laughed and joked back, "Yeah, but it's not too late for me to die young."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

When they arrived on Quantos, Kaden was immediately struck by the vast difference in environment from what he was used to. Lumos was a desert planet, and even Fastoon had a fairly dry overall climate, but Quantos was like one big jungle. There was water, and all manner of colorful foliage every way he turned. He hadn't seen so much green since since the Gelatonium incident that happened in his workshop when he was thirteen years old.

Max noticed the awed look on his face as he swiveled around to take in the view, and smilingly said, "Breathtaking, isn't it? There aren't many planets left with this kind of unspoiled natural beauty."

"Ain't _that_ the truth," Kaden agreed.

The only structures present that weren't naturally-occurring were in ruins. Toppled pillars and crumbling stairs littered the area in which they now stood, with moss and vines climbing all over them. Here and there symbols could be vaguely distinguished on some surfaces, though most of them were too broken or decayed to be properly made out. Kaden walked over to a dilapidated wall and held out a small device. He then proceeded to scan the symbols present and watched the tiny screen as it computed the data.

"So, just out of curiosity," Max asked, "what made you so interested in the Fongoid ruins to begin with?"

"Well," Kaden replied. "Fongoids are the only known race that absolutely _refuses_ to have anything to do with technology—which, to someone like me just seems stupid at first—but then I got to wondering... why? So I started looking at their planets and civilization a little more closely, and I discovered that even though the Fongoids are opposed to technology, there are signs in their ancient ruins that they were once a technological race."

"Really?"

"Yes, and when you think about it, they _must've_ had space-faring capability at some point in history, otherwise they wouldn't be scattered across the galaxy on several different planets."

"Wow, you're right!"

"So now that I know they once _had_ technology, my new question is, 'why did they abandon it?' Being a Lombax, I'm curious what would make any race do such a thing."

"Yeah, I can see what you mean... But, why did you pick _this_ place? Why aren't we going into the Temple of Zahn or something?"

"The Temple of Zahn is in a Fongoid settlement. I doubt they would welcome us to snoop around in there, and I don't want to cause any trouble if I don't have to... But _this_ place..." He paused to look around at the ruins, scrutinizing them as though looking for something invisible. "Even though there's not a Fongoid within miles of these ruins, I picked up some very strange energy emanating from them. I have a hunch that means something... Here!"

He rushed over to the edge of a crumbling structure and said, "There's something... _mechanical_ under this ruin... If we could figure out how to trigger it..."

As he said all this he started running his hands over the surface of the structure, looking for a latch or a hidden lever, and suddenly one of the stones he touched gave under the light pressure.

The ground shook, and not ten paces away a huge section of earth began to recede slowly, like it was being sucked underground. Kaden and Max both gasped in fear and scrambled away, heading for the ship. Before they went far, however, Kaden turned back and saw that the square of moving earth had lowered into a ramp that led into a pitch-black cavern. A burst of excitement seized Kaden's heart, and he rushed forward without thinking twice.

"Kaden, wait!" Max shouted after him, but his warning went unheeded.

The Lombax stopped at the edge of the walkway leading down to a staircase that descended into the dark, unexplored recesses of the underground. He stared in fascination for a few seconds, then turned around and called out, "Come on, Max!"

He waited the few seconds that it took for Max to gingerly venture forth and join him by the ramp, and then the two of them stared down into the shadows for a long, silent moment.

"We have no idea what's down there, do we?" Max said.

"Nope," Kaden confirmed. "But you're an explorer and I'm a daredevil. I think we can handle it."

"Yeah..." Max agreed, not _quite_ as solid as his younger companion. The two of them pulled out their lights, and took a deep breath before boldly setting forth into the unknown.

"Be careful," Max suggested once they'd passed the ramp and set foot on the staircase. "There could be—"

An unfortunate footfall of Kaden's depressed something that clicked, and they spun around to see the ramp ascend back into place, cutting off their exit and sealing out all light.

"—traps," Max finished morosely.

The stairs underfoot turned on their heads, and screams filled the air as the two tumbled down what was now a steep slide. A few seconds later the slide ended without warning, and they fell through the air only to be deposited on what felt like solid stone.

Kaden groaned, pressing his hand to his throbbing head. "You all right, Max?" he asked.

The Markazian let loose a similar grunt of pain and said, "Yeah, I think I'm okay... No broken bones, anyway."

Kaden was just about to flash his light around to see where they had ended up, when a ring of fire blazed up from the floor, surrounding them. Kaden gasped, and immediately snapped his eyes to the ground to make sure there was no kindling underneath them. The sight of nothing but flat, hard rock brought a split-second's relief, and then he turned to Max, who was glancing fearfully all around.

"Don't move," Kaden instructed. "Let's just wait and see what happens."

"Sounds like a plan," Max agreed.

Suddenly the fire in one narrow part of the ring died out, leaving a clear doorway outside.

"There!" Kaden shouted.

"Wait!" Max grabbed him before he could make a run for it. Sure enough, the fire returned and completed the ring once more just as Kaden would've been standing above the spitter. Before Kaden could register what had happened enough to thank Max, another piece of the ring disappeared, leaving an opening on the other side. That one, too, filled back up before they would have had time to get through.

"What's this?" Kaden wondered aloud.

"I think it's a pattern," said Max. We have to figure out where it disappears long enough for us to escape, and be right there when it happens."

"Got it."

The two adventurers sat back-to-back, watching the flames. Several more times a path opened up, only to close too fast to be useful. Kaden felt sweat collecting under his fur, and coiled his hands resting on the warm floor into fists. If nothing happened soon, they would have to chance dashing through the blaze.

"Now! Max shouted out of nowhere, and he grabbed Kaden's wrist and practically lifted him into the air as he raced to the ring's edge. The patch of flame before them dissipated just as they flew through it, and tumbled to the ground on the other side. Kaden stood to his feet breathing hard, and smiled down at his guide wearing an impressed grin.

"Nice work!" he complimented, offering him his hand.

"Thanks," Max gasped. He took Kaden's hand and let the Lombax help him to his feet.

More noise of grinding stone called their attention behind them, where their lights shone against a wall that was slowly sliding down into the floor. When a loud _crack_ announced that it had stopped, the way before them lay open, an empty corridor lined with torches that ominously blinked alight one-by-one.

Kaden frowned suspiciously. It was too easy. Too inviting. Especially considering the hospitality they'd been shown so far. He glanced at Max, whose face confirmed the same wariness. They both looked around for some other avenue to explore, only to discover that they were standing on something of an island. The ground around the fire ring continued for a few paces in all directions before it cut off, the resulting drop leading too far down for the bottom to be seen.

Simultaneously they turned back to the lit corridor, realizing they had no other option.

"Well," Kaden muttered. "Any advice?"

"Go as slow as you possibly can," Max replied. "But the instant you hear something, _run_."

Kaden nodded his agreement, and the two explorers stepped cautiously into the torchlit hallway. The stone walls that arched high over their heads were full of cracks and covered in moss. Some of the cracks looked suspiciously deliberate, Kaden thought, and he kept his eyes on them as he inched past. For a while the going was quiet and uneventful, the only tension being the constant awareness that something might happen. Neither Max nor Kaden dared breathe a word to break the silence for fear of setting off another trap.

They hadn't gone very far when a threatening _twang_ pierced the silence, and a flaming arrow zipped through the air right in front of them. Who had triggered this and how was a mystery, but it didn't really matter. Max's instructions flashed into Kaden's mind, and the two bolted forward as a volley of flaming arrows followed the first, lighting up the corridor from every angle. Some snapped against the opposite wall. Others embedded themselves in the ceiling or floor. There was no telling where they would strike, so the twosome's only chance was to stay ahead of them.

Suddenly the arrows stopped, and within the same second a stream of flame shot across the path just ahead, sweeping back and forth over the floor. Kaden and Max screeched to a halt for just a second to catch their bearings, then leapt over the fire as it was coming toward them and continued onward. Many more such obstacles continued to threaten them at every turn. Gaps in the floor that they had to jump. Moving bars that they had to duck. Pendulum blades swinging from the ceiling that they had to time their dash through.

Just when it looked like things couldn't get any worse, Kaden looked up and saw that the corridor stopped shortly in a dead end.

"Oh, no!" Max exclaimed.

They couldn't stop running, lest traps overtake them. What would they do when they ran out of road?

"Hit it with everything you've got!" Kaden shouted in desperation, hoping the wall was more brittle than it looked.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and reached out his hands while Max did the same at his right. They lunged toward the wall... and passed right through like it wasn't there. Kaden opened his eyes in surprise when he reached what he thought would be solid stone and instead flew instead through thin air. He and his guide toppled to the ground, and found themselves once more in darkness and silence.

"What happened?" Max grunted.

Kaden got up and shone his light behind them. Sure enough, he saw a solid stone wall right where it should've been. How had they phased right through it? Overcome by curiosity, Kaden walked over to the wall and reached out to touch it. His hand passed right into it, disappearing behind the image of the wall.

"It's a hologram!" he muttered in disbelief. "I knew they used to have technology!" And rather _advanced_ technology, for that matter. The perils of the death-defying run were instantly forgotten in the face of this discovery.

Kaden looked back at Max who was already at work lighting up torches to illuminate their surroundings. He found some dead torches lining the walls of the roundish room, and replaced them with his fresh ones until the whole room was filled with a soft yellow glow.

There was nothing in the room except walls and floors, but a detail of far greater significance was that the walls were _covered_ in ancient runes and bizarre pictures. While Kaden stared dumbly with his mouth hanging open, Max took off his pack and pulled a book from inside it. After leafing through it for a brief moment, looking constantly up and down from the book to the wall, he exclaimed in surprise, "These runes are a historical account!"

"You're kidding!" Kaden exclaimed.

"No, I'm not!" said Max. "A lot of it is missing, though..."

"Well, read what you can."

"Okay, let's see... Here it says... 'our mistake was—' and it trails off... 'could not have anticipated how badly—' trails off again... 'not to be tampered with—' and there's a _huge_ chunk missing after that..."

"Are there any complete sentences intact?" Kaden asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"I'm sorry," Max muttered sheepishly. He glanced across the wall and moved over to a nearby section, saying, "There's a decent-sized bit over here that's mostly legible, but it starts right in the middle of something: '–a great machine with incredible power.'"

_That_ got Kaden's attention. "Go on," he said.

"Uh..." Max understood a lot of ancient Fongoid on his own, but he needed the assistance of his book to interpret some of the symbols, and as a result his translation was a bit slow and fragmented. "It says, 'We have been entrusted with—information?—no, _knowledge_ of its existence, and we... must not betray that trust.' A small bit is worn away, and then, '–our duty to the...'"

Max trailed off, his eyes still fixed on the same spot of the wall. Kaden waited a few seconds, then could no longer contain his curiosity and blurted out, "The _what_?"

"It's hard to translate," Max explained. "It's a cluster of symbols written in a way that's meant to read as a single idea—like a two-part name... I think the first part is 'Keeper.' "

"Keeper?" Kaden repeated, surprised at the coincidence. "Keeper of what?"

"That part I can't read," Max muttered. "It's legible, but the symbol is completely unfamiliar to me, and it's not in the book. It must be unique to this story, because I've never seen it before in any Fongoid writings."

Kaden sighed in disappointment, sweeping back his ears with his hand. "Does the symbol appear anywhere else? Maybe if we found it in another context, we could figure out what it means."

Soon he and Max were scouring every wall in the room for the strange doohickey that would hopefully answer their questions. Kaden was about to give up and start kicking dust around in frustration when Max announced, "Here! I think I found it."

Kaden rushed over to him and looked at the writing on the wall to which he pointed. It was an almost square patch of text, with four lines of runic Fongoid and the sought-after symbol straggling at the bottom.

"What are the words above it?" Kaden asked.

"Hold on..." Max entreated, running his hands over the text as though it would help him read it. His eyes flitted back and forth for a few seconds before he smiled and said, "You're not going to believe this, but it's a riddle."

"A riddle?"

Max nodded. "A very _strange_ riddle..."

"Well, what's it say?"

"It reads, 'What is longer than length, stronger than strength, changes but doesn't change, and never gets parking tickets?'"

Kaden stared in dumbfounded silence for a long moment, waiting for his partner to laugh and admit that he was pulling his leg. When Max only held his gaze in all seriousness for a good ten seconds, Kaden exclaimed, "That's the dumbest riddle I've ever heard!"

"Well, its answer is the symbol you want to translate," Max reminded, "so if we can solve this riddle, we'll know what this 'great machine' was supposedly the keeper of."

Kaden took a deep breath. "All right, all right," he muttered. "Let's just think about this. What is longer than length,"

"–stronger than strength,"

"–changes but... _doesn't_ change,"

"–and never gets..." (Max paused to make a strange face) "parking tickets...?"

The two adults stared at each other in childish bewilderment, trying to find some visage of sense in the bizarre word puzzle, until Kaden at last cracked under the ridiculousness of it all.

"What kind of stupid riddle is _that?!_ Changes but doesn't change? _Parking tickets?_ That doesn't even make sense!" He turned to Max and asked, "Are you _sure_ you read it right?"

"Not _entirely_ sure, no," Max admitted. "These runes are almost as old as the rocks they're carved into."

"Hmm..." Kaden's tail started flipping back and forth as he drifted off into thought. At long last he murmured, "A machine from that long ago... that was considered great and powerful."

"If it was so ancient, it might _not_ be so great by modern standards," Max suggested.

"Still... to think that an entire race would forsake all other technology because of one machine. What in the universe could it have been capable of?"

Max had no answer to that.

At long last Kaden sighed in frustration and pulled a small golden trinket from his pocket. He opened it so that each of its round halves lay flat on his hand, like pages of a book. On the right side was the inner-workings of the tiny machine—little pieces of metal that all fit together and moved in a synchronous pattern, producing a faint ticking sound. On the other side was a familiar holo-pic of him and Alister. The sight of it made him smile, just like he was smiling in the picture.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"It's called a pocket watch," Kaden replied.

"Yes..." Max murmured thoughtfully. "I think I have a few of those in my collection. That technology hasn't been used in centuries. Where did _you_ get one?"

"I made it."

"_Made_ it?"

Kaden nodded.

"May I see it?" Max asked.

Kaden handed over the bauble and Max looked it over with muted fascination. He wondered if the Markazian would ask about the picture, but evidently he was either too preoccupied with the watch itself to notice it, or simply felt that it was none of his business.

However, he did venture to ask, "Why are there no numbers?"

"Because it's not about the _function_," Kaden said, "it's about the _mechanism_."

"Huh?"

Kaden smiled and went on, "Have you ever heard the old phrase, 'like clockwork?'"

"That _is_ an old phrase."

"It was used to mean something worked perfectly. That's what clocks represent for me. The technology itself is so ancient, so primitive— and yet, it's one of the only inventions in history that always works _perfectly_. This watch is to remind me that, no matter how complex technology gets, it's always based on something simple—cogs and gears, kinetic energy and movement—like a..." Kaden paused, his eyes and mouth opening wide in stunned realization. He turned and stared dumbly at the runes on the wall, then at last finished, "like a—a clock..."

Max said nothing. Whatever had struck Kaden so strongly completely eluded him.

"Of _course_..." Kaden exclaimed, his eyes bright. "It's time!"

"What?" Max asked, still confused.

"Think about it," Kaden said, speaking faster than his partner could likely keep up. "The answer to the riddle is 'time.' It's longer than length and stronger than strength because it never ends and can't be overpowered. It changes places and people, but time itself never changes because it always passes in a uniform way. And it never stops, so it's impossible for time to get parking tickets! Get it?"

Max stared open-mouthed at the excited Lombax for a long, speechless moment. "Kaden..." he muttered at last, "either you've lost your mind, or whoever wrote that riddle had a _terrible_ sense of humor."

"But let's just say I'm right. That would mean that the rune reads 'Keeper of Time,' which would mean that this 'great machine with incredible power' was a timekeeper. We think of clocks as devices for keeping _track_ of time, but what if there was a clock that could actually _keep_ time itself? And if the clock is the machine and time is the mechanism, then what's the function?"

"Uh..."

Kaden realized that he had officially lost Max. Thus, he volunteered his own explanation. "We could be dealing with a device that can actually control the flow of time."

"You mean—a time machine?"

"I don't know... maybe."

A faint warbling noise overhead called their attention upward, where they saw a strange, softly glowing object floating in the air. Kaden squinted his eyes to see it better, and just then it moved a little closer of its own accord. Was it a creature? A robot? Kaden couldn't tell. It looked like it was alive, but sparks zapped constantly across its small purplish body. Its eyes were enormous, but he couldn't tell whether they were looking at him or not.

"What is _that?_" Max asked.

Kaden didn't reply, for he was still trying to figure it out himself. The thing uttered something Kaden couldn't understand in a voice that sounded like buzzing. It blinked its giant eyes and hovered closer, and suddenly Kaden snapped—it looked just like one of the pictures etched in the age-old runes on the wall!

He didn't even have time to gasp before the creature fluttered off, shrinking into the darkness above.

"No, wait!" he shouted, instinctively stepping forward. Once more he felt something give under his foot and heard an accompanying _click_.

His ears instantly went limp. "Oh, boy."

The circular floor underfoot shook, revealing a seam down the middle, and the two halves split apart, dumping Max and Kaden into the open air below. Within seconds Kaden splashed into water, and held his breath as his body was swept away with a strong current. He managed to break surface and look around, but the only light came from the direction to which the water flowed. There wasn't even time to panic before he was tossed over the edge of a waterfall, and he landed with an even bigger splash in the pool below.

Returning to the surface with a gasp for breath, he worriedly called out, "Max?"

The Markazian surfaced nearby, coughing and thrashing around in a lingering panic.

"Max! Are you okay?"

Max stilled and looked around, then nodded and said, "Yeah, I think so..."

They were back in the jungle, and since there was obviously no going back the way they came, they had no choice but to swim ashore and make their way back to Aphelion. The going was relatively quiet, as they both had much to think about and little to say, but at one point Max did venture to ask Kaden, "What do you think that—_thing_ we saw was?"

"I don't know..." Kaden admitted thoughtfully. "But I'm betting it was the source of the weird energy reading that brought me here."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

"So what you're saying is, you think somewhere out in space there's a clock that can control time?" said Hadrian, as usual trying not to sound condescending but without total success. Kaden looked straight at him, then at every other member of the Council in turn, trying to gauge their reactions to see if the general consensus favored _his_ view, or Hadrian's. He couldn't help but feel resentment bubbling inside him at the mere sound of his long-time rival's cocky voice. He remembered Hadrian's outward response when _Kaden_ was chosen as the Keeper of the Dimensionator: outwardly professional, but inwardly seething. He'd lost no time in chasing down a seat on the Council of Elders, as though to declare that he wouldn't be outdone by a self-taught dreamer ten years younger than him who'd gotten lucky.

"That's my theory, yes... though it's really more of a hypothesis at this point. I think we should look into it further," Kaden stated. He was disappointed that no one else in the room seemed much more enthusiastic than Hadrian. They looked at each other across the round table with bemused eyes and no one ventured to speak for a long moment. Kaden felt like the walls of the meeting chamber were closing in on him as he anxiously awaited a response.

He turned to the only member of the Council who he knew personally, and his old friend gave him a sympathetic look. Of course, Kaden realized that this was all he could do. Major Alister Azimuth had only been on the council for a very short time, and even putting that aside, his opinion was not particularly valued in terms of purely scientific ventures. He was there mostly to offer wisdom in military-related decisions.

"How would we do that?" someone asked, breaking the silence at last. "By sending out ships to look for this thing?

"Well, not right away," said Kaden. "I get the feeling even the Fongoids on Quantos don't know about the cavern that Max Apogee and I found. If we showed them such an important piece of their own history, they might trust us enough that they'd be willing to share some of what _they_ know about this 'Keeper of Time'."

"No offense, Kaden, but the Fongoids hardly seem like they would be a reliable source of information. They're naïve, and easily confused."

"Besides," said Hadrian, "what are the chances that this 'Clock' actually exists? We can't afford to send valuable scientists out chasing what could very well prove to be a fairy tale."

"A fairy tale?" Kaden repeated, livid at his insulting choice of words.

"You must consider the possibility that the runes you read were not based on actual fact," Hadrian said smugly.

"And _you_ must consider the possibility that they were!" Kaden snapped back.

At that moment Councilwoman Ulima stood to her feet, and all eyes turned to her. She was tall and slender, with graying fur the same base color as Kaden's. Known for her great wisdom, articulated most effectively through her strong voice and sharp eyes, she had an aura that commanded respect from everyone she came in contact with. She spoke with gentle firmness, capturing the attention of all present even though she was only addressing one of them. "Please understand, Kaden," she said. "We aren't dismissing your findings offhand. However, certain absolutes still hold true as determining factors in the equation. Even if your theory is valid, you must understand how impractical it would be to pursue it. Quite frankly, we can't spare the resources, and even if we could... do you really think it would be wise to seek out something _that_ powerful?"

Kaden said nothing, soberly considering her point. After she'd given him a moment to reflect, Ulima went on. "Time is a living, breathing thing. Powerful, beautiful—oftentimes cruel. It can humble the strongest army, shape mountains to its will, and turn entire oceans to dust. If a machine that can manipulate it in any way truly exists, it's not the sort of thing that should be made known. Someone with your imagination should understand why this is so."

Kaden gritted his teeth and almost bit his tongue. He _did_ understand. Truly, he was grateful for Ulima's tact and sensitivity in dismissing his proposal without implying complete disrespect for it. Still, it was disappointing, and he felt a bit like he had been trampled underfoot.

"All right, then," he muttered with a respectful nod, trying not to sound as flustered as he felt. "Thank you all for your time."

He turned and headed toward the door, holding his head high in an effort to leave with dignity. Just then Alister rose from his seat and called out to him, "Kaden."

Kaden stopped, and turned to meet with the sad eyes of his friend.

"I'm sorry," Alister muttered.

It wasn't a huge comfort, but Kaden was glad to know that his best friend was willing to step out this far—to acknowledge their relationship before the rest of the Council, and for such a trivial matter as offering sympathy. Kaden smiled in silent thanks, then turned around and quietly walked away.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**- _Max Apogee__—_ Yes, I went there. :P Don't worry, there's a method to my madness. XD As for the way I chose to portray Max's character, well... I just thought it would make for a fun contrast if he was a bit of a shy, awkward type and Talwyn got her forwardness from her mother. ^-^**

**- _The Unnamed Temple (or whatever it is)__—_ No, it's not a place that exists in the canon, but I drew my inspiration from the level where Ratchet explores the Temple of Zahn.**

**- _Kaden's Watch__—_ I was hoping I could do something really significant with that watch when I finally brought it into the story, but I was drawing a blank for the longest time and about to give up... I totally give God the credit for the idea that hit me for incorporating it into this chapter, 'cause there's no way it came from _my_ subconscious. X) I always thought it was funny that the watch didn't have any numbers, so Kaden's reason for making it is meant to explain that. What do you think, Dark Glass Marionette? Does this satisfy you? ^-^ I bet now you're wondering how Alister gets ahold of it, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait. ;)**

**- _The 'Time' Riddle__—_ *does Orvus chuckle* Okay, so this little nugget came from me tearing my hair out trying to figure out some not-too-all-revealing clue that could steer Kaden in the direction of his 'Clock' theory. Knowing Orvus, I can totally imagine him leaving some sort of bizarre riddle on Quantos to tantalize would-be knowledge seekers. The tricky part was coming up with one that fit his... _unique_ sense of humor. :P Hopefully I succeeded. ^^'**

**- _Kaden's Theory__—_ *heaves long sigh and passes out on keyboard* Okay, so even though I dedicated a whole chapter to showing how Kaden theorized the Great Clock's existence (and even though that chapter ended up being the longest chapter I've ever written for the story), I still feel like the way it all happens is too fast and coincidental to be believable. Again, I hope it's just me, but if it's not, then... oh, well. :(**

**Well, this chapter just about does it for the fun and games. The no-nonsense final arc of the story rapidly approaches... and I'm a little scared, to tell the truth. Thanks so much to everyone who's been keeping up with me on this! Hopefully you won't regret it by the time it's over.**


	13. Breaking Point

**Foreword:**

***sigh* So this week I started getting pain in my right hand and was told by a friend of mine who is quite knowledgeable in this area that I was inflamed from too much keyboarding and that if I don't take steps to keep it from getting worse, I could get carpal tunnel. O.O Apparently excessive/incorrect computer use (not limited to the keyboard, even) is known to cause permanent nerve damage, but there are tons of steps that frequent computer users can take to minimize their risk, like doing hand stretches between hour-long periods of typing, and using an external mouse whenever possible if you have a laptop. But I'm digressing. Basically, where I am right now, I have to be careful how much time I spend on the computer, which means limiting the amount of writing/corresponding that I do on a regular basis. Hopefully this won't equate to serious delay in updating this story, but I figured I should give my readers a heads-up just in case. Also, I _strongly_ urge my fellow writers to look into ergonomics now before you start having problems! It'll save you a lot of grief in the future. T-T**

**Well, here it is, people— the beginning of the end. You'll see why in the next installment, but for now, I'll just treat you to some action and hopefully a bit of suspense. *gasp* This chapter actually has _blood_ in it! DX Think I can still get away with a T rating? ^-^**

* * *

"_They have now surrounded us in their steps; they have set their eyes crouching down to the earth,"_

— _Psalm 17:11_

« ... »

Alister drummed his fingers repeatedly against a control-free spot on the console in front of him, worrying at his lower lip. He couldn't explain why, but ever since he'd awakened that morning a sense of unease had gripped him. Even though there had been no alert for a while about potential dispatches, he was on edge. Even though nothing was happening, his battle instincts were going haywire. It was both confusing and disconcerting.

Maybe he'd just been working too hard. Thinking too much. It was true that his time in the military—with a few small exceptions—had been a long and nightmarish experience. Ever since Raiken's death, he'd seen nothing but more injustice and further bloodshed. Every month, it seemed, there was a new attack, another threat. Pirates raiding planets, Agorians attacking settlements... About the only thing he could think of that was even remotely encouraging was that the survivors of the Dakari sect (if any yet remained) had not been able to recover from their losses and return for a comeback. This was little comfort, however, as the future was always uncertain.

He had seen more action in his mere seven years of service than most soldiers saw in an entire lifetime—which accounted for the unheard of speed at which he'd climbed to the rank of Colonel. Sadly, he couldn't even feel joy in this accomplishment, because it was just another reminder of how bad things were. It reminded him of something Raiken had told him long ago: _"It's always easier to climb the ranks in times of war... because positions open up faster when soldiers are getting killed in battle."_

Alister looked around, reminding himself of where he was and trying to draw comfort from it. The Main Headquarters of the Lombax Praetorian Guard was an imposing place—one of the most well-defended military bases in the entire galaxy. As an impregnable fortress, it came second only to The Court of Azimuth, which was located on the same planet. He never did find out whether he was related to the Lombaxes who designed _that_ place...

Having successfully misdirected his own thoughts, at least for a moment, he forced a smile and told himself that, whatever may happen everywhere else, at least Fastoon was safe. As long as there was one planet that couldn't be touched, there was hope for the future, and as long as there was hope, he could stand up under the weight of war and face the daily struggles of his victimized generation. It was a frail comfort, but it was all he could muster. Though he still couldn't shake the bizarre anxiousness that lingered in his chest.

He glanced at the time readout on a nearby console. It was getting late. Soon it would be time for him to return to his barracks and call it a night. He wondered if he would be able to sleep in his agitated state. With a sigh he pushed the call button on his communicator box and mumbled into it, "Kaden? You there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Kaden replied. "What's up?"

"Have you left the Center yet?"

"I'm heading out now, actually. Why?"

Alister felt a bit ridiculous about what he was doing, but he was compelled by a force he didn't understand. Hesitantly he muttered, "Um... I think you and Nayeli should stay home tonight."

The line was quiet for a few seconds, then Kaden curiously said, "Um, okay... Any particular reason?"

"Not a _good_ reason," Alister admitted. "I just have a bad feeling..."

He ended the conversation with a push of a button and set off down a deserted corridor, considering that he might stay late tonight, even if his shift _was_ over.

A few minutes later he stopped outside a huge door and stood still while the computer ran a bio scan. A brief announcement that his clearance had been confirmed issued on the PA, the door slid open, and he stepped quietly inside the Central Control Room. The expansive space was circled by raritanium-enforced walls that were covered in a collage of consoles, status screens, and all manner of buttons and blinking lights. Alister himself didn't even know what some of them did. Many stations and consoles popped straight out of the floor as well, and virtually every one of them was manned by a Lombax of rank diligently tending to their current duty.

With a sigh, Alister turned to General Braxton, who was seated on the other side of the room studying an intelligence report. He'd never spoken of it to Alister, but Braxton had clearly held Captain Raiken in very high regard, and after Raiken's death, that regard had, in a strange way, been passed down to Alister. It was almost as though they had replaced Raiken for one another.

Almost.

Even though he had by now left his mentor's dying rank far behind, Alister never truly felt like he had surpassed him. And as much as he appreciated the favor shown him by Braxton, it could never approximate the camaraderie he'd had with the Lombax who taught him almost everything he knew. Who was so much like a father to him that he sometimes forgot they weren't actually related.

"General Braxton, sir," he said, stepping closer to the General's station, "I'd like permission to stay for the night watch."

Braxton looked up at him curiously. He must have thought it strange to hear such a request out of nowhere like that. Nonetheless, he muttered, "Granted. What's on your mind, Azimuth?"

Alister was about to begin the awkward task of explaining his odd intuition, when his fears were realized. A female officer at the surveillance station suddenly announced, "This must be a mistake... According to my sensor readings, a huge armada of ships just—_appeared_ near orbit."

"What?" Braxton exclaimed, rising to his feet.

"I see them, too," said an officer at another station. "There was a sudden burst of energy at the moment they appeared. They might've been using some kind of cloaking device."

"A whole armada?" Braxton muttered in disbelief.

The tactical officer shouted out, "Our defense grid is _shutting down!_ I'm reading power failures in sixteen systems!"

Alister couldn't believe what he was hearing... it seemed too nightmarish to be real. Even the General seemed to be having trouble processing it. An all-out attack on Fastoon was nigh unthinkable. It was the Lombax homeworld, and one of the most well-protected planets in the galaxy. Anyone who would even _dream_ of assaulting it like this could only be one of two things: completely insane, or unbelievably powerful.

"Hostile ships are entering orbit! They're heading for the Capitol!"

"Sound the alert!" Braxton instructed. "Order all units to mobilize for combat immediately!"

The General continued to bark out orders, but they faded to silence in Alister's ears as he was already racing from the room to rally his troops for battle.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

An explosion that came out of nowhere knocked Kaden to the ground. With his instincts in high-gear, he leapt back to his feet and looked up to discover that it wasn't an explosion at all. The building next to him had been fired on by a ship. Then dozens of similar ships began swarming overhead, and together they rained plasma down on the ground below. Kaden activated his hoverboots and jetted forward as a spray of bullets peppered the trail behind him. It was like deja vu—the raid on Lumos all over again—and he gasped as that thought sparked a terrible realization.

Glancing up at the attacking ships, he noticed that a few of them were familiar in design. He'd seen similar ships in the raid seven years ago. They had belonged to the space pirates. Sure enough, while the smaller, unrecognizable ships continued their siege overhead, the pirate ships started to land one-by-one, and heavily-armored mercenaries began spilling out to terrorize civilians.

Kaden kicked his boots into overdrive and blasted forward, banking and swerving around every obstacle that presented itself—pirates, crumbling buildings, and panicked crowds of Lombaxes. He remembered what had almost happened the last time pirates had attacked his home, and the return of that threat struck a fear into his heart that no amount of shock could quell.

Within minutes he'd reached his home, and he burst inside, worriedly calling out, "Nayeli!"

He gasped and stopped dead in his tracks.

Half a dozen pirates were in his living room, all standing together in a group and staring in his direction like they'd been waiting for him. The one in the middle who was the largest and most fearsome of the lot smiled at him vindictively. He was grasping Nayeli around the waist, and holding a blade to her throat.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister swept the battlefield with his eyes while his hands guided the controls of his ship. The sooner he got his troops down there fighting, the better, but there needed to be an element of strategy in where he chose to put them down. The first thing he noticed when he observed the enemy's attack pattern was that the invading forces were comprised of both space pirate ships and Dakari fighters. So some of those vermin _had_ survived... While the Dakari forces kept to the skies and laid down continuous fire on key structures, like the C.A.L.R., the pirate ships were landing and emptying their crews who took to the streets in true raiding fashion.

The space pirates and Dakari teaming up for a joint strike on Fastoon. Alister couldn't imagine a worse scenario. But this wasn't the time for lamenting the graveness of the situation. Right now it simply had to be dealt with. It occurred to him that in order for a combined aerial strike and ground raid to be accomplished simultaneously, there must be some predesignated pattern in which the Dakari attacks were meant to be contained. Keeping that in mind would go a long way toward streamlining their defense. But he would trust the officers in charge of air defense to notice this for themselves. His responsibility was the command of his infantry.

He pinpointed the area in greatest need of ground support and pulled the ship in for a landing. His co-pilot, Lieutenant Darren, brusquely commented, "This is gonna be one for the history books, eh, Colonel?"

Alister didn't reply except for a muted sigh. He knew that the Lieutenant's crass, flippant manner was truly just a defense mechanism for dealing with the stress of battle. Unlike Alister, he lacked the ability to reign in his emotions, and the only method left him to keep from breaking down in despair was to pretend that the horrors he faced were no big deal. Alister still remembered the day news had come that Darren's brother had been killed in action. He remembered how, after a few seconds of staring in utter disbelief, the young officer had let out a quiet, awkward laugh, earning the confused ire of all soldiers present. Only Alister recognized the pain ironically embodied in that laugh.

The ship touched down, all the hatches opened, and dozens of battle-ready soldiers poured out onto the streets, led by Alister himself. As though sharing one mind, they followed him as he charged out into the fray with both ends of the his battle wrench sizzling with blue electricity. He swung furiously at the first enemy he met, and the pirate was blown backwards by the impact of the energy blast and trampled underfoot by the advancing tide of furious Lombaxes.

Per Alister's earlier instructions, the unit broke up into smaller groups and scattered throughout the streets. The sound of shrieking and gunfire instantly doubled as the Praetorian Guard engaged the enemy. Rundaks mixed in with the pirates offered savage resistance, moving faster than most of the soldiers could keep up. They scurried into sight from around building corners, rushed at their enemies on all fours, then leapt forward before the unsuspecting target could react. Alister saw several of his men go down in this manner. Rundaks could cut into an unprotected neck with their bare claws and be after their next victim almost before the blood spattered across the pavement.

Alister held out his wrench like a bar in front of him just as one of the vicious creatures attacked, and as its sharp claws clanged against the metal of his weapon, he drove his knee hard into its stomach. The thing squealed in pain, then silenced when Alister pulled his wrench loose and jabbed one electrified end into its body. Snapping his head to the left, he saw his lieutenant desperately struggling to hold back a robotic attack dog that had him pinned to the ground. With one deft swing he sent forth a fierce blast of energy that knocked the robot off his comrade and into the side of a nearby building, where it exploded. Darren jumped to his feet and quickly muttered, "Thanks!"

Alister nodded with a quick smile, and the two of them returned to the battle.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Nayeli's eyes met with Kaden's. A mechanical gag was locked across her mouth, holding back all but the faintest squeaks of mortal fear. Her hands appeared to be tied behind her back, and her exposed neck was stretched taut as she shied back from the blade that pressed suddenly closer.

"No, wait!" Kaden cried, helplessly splaying out his hands. "Don't hurt her!"

"If ye want to save the lass, ye'll have to take her place," the pirate stated.

"What?"

Kaden was bewildered by this ultimatum. Why would they want _him?_

"Hard of hearin', are ye? I'm offering a trade: you for her. Refuse, and we'll cut her up like so much leviathan bait."

Nayeli suddenly looked twice as afraid as before. She set her eyes on Kaden and did her best to shake her head despite the sword set at her neck. Kaden swallowed hard. The choice would have been obvious if not for the dubious character of the person offering it.

"If I agree," he wondered aloud, "how do I know you'll let her go?"

"Doubt our trustworthiness, eh?" snapped a pirate who emerged from the back of the group with cruel swiftness. "Allow me to prove that we always keep our promises."

He grabbed Nayeli by the elbow as his own sword flashed out of its scabbard. Faster than Kaden could even react, he slashed across her arm. She winced in pain and blood began seeping from the new wound.

"No!" Kaden screamed, dashing forward on instinct.

"Stay _back!_" The monster bellowed, this time slicing into Nayeli's leg.

Kaden stopped cold, his eyes widening in horror. Nayeli drew in a sharp breath through her nose, but the gag on her mouth prevented her from screaming. Her legs gave out and she collapsed, but her captor held her upright and refused to let her sink to the ground. Kaden gazed at her face as it twisted in agony. His heart felt like it would explode.

"Stop! Please!" he begged. "Take me! Do whatever you want with me! Just let her go!"

Bleeding and in horrible pain, Nayeli still managed to raise her head to look her husband in the eyes, and she pleadingly shook her head from side to side.

The pirates smiled with accomplishment and one of them tossed something to Kaden. "Put these on," he instructed.

Kaden caught the object and saw that it was a pair of energy cuffs. The same kind the Lombax Praetorian Guard used. Where they'd gotten them, he didn't know, but he knew that once they were on, he wouldn't be able to get them off.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister's ears rang from the deafening impact of a nearby explosion. He looked up, and gasped in horror as he suddenly found himself in the shadow of a tumbling building. He kick started his hoverboots and zoomed away, barely making it out of the impact zone before the whole structure came crashing to the ground. He couldn't stop himself from glancing over his shoulder to see the wreckage, shuddering at the thought of how many lives had just been lost. It was even worse to realize that the tragedy had been caused by an enemy fighter that crashed after being shot down by a Lombax ship. Even their own defense effort was causing casualties for them!

Alister grit his teeth in silent fury. All around him his home had erupted into a battlefield. Civilians raced about in a senseless panic while pirates terrorized the streets. Fires burned everywhere. More damage was being done by the second. As his sense of hearing returned to him, he was assaulted once more by the blood-chilling sounds of screaming—children screaming in fear, adults screaming in pain, soldiers screaming instructions so as to be heard over the din of battle.

He was jarred to his senses when a pirate twice his size came charging toward him, brandishing an electrified machete. Alister dodged backwards to avoid the first deadly swing, but in the process lost his footing and fell to the ground. The pirate was right on top of him, aiming to decapitate him with a swift downward thrust. On pure instinct Alister pulled up his battle wrench and braced it at an angle so that the assaulting weapon caught in the cleft of its exposed end. The opposing energies crackled all the louder as they collided. Alister yanked his wrench aside, and the pirate's blade flew from his grasp and clattered on the street several paces away. Within the same second he plunged his weapon into his enemy's chest, and watched as his whole body convulsed from electric shock. A moment later the pirate fell to the ground, the metal parts of his body still sparking in the aftermath of Alister's wrath.

The Lombax soldier immediately jumped to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lieutenant Darren and the rest of his group facing down an enormous a rogue pirate. He swallowed hard, remembering the one he and Raiken had fought in the Lumos raid. This one was even bigger, firing bombs from his arm cannon at double the rate. He raced to the aid of his subordinates, but a cold dread seized his heart as the next few seconds flashed before his eyes, for he saw that there was nothing he could do.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden looked to Nayeli, then to the pirate who seemed to be in charge, and weighed the situation in his head as carefully as he could in a few brief seconds. Indeed, he would willingly offer up his own life to save Nayeli, but he seriously doubted that these thugs had any intention of actually releasing her, and he wouldn't be doing her any favors by letting them both get captured. What could he do? There had to be some way around this.

He swallowed hard and said, "First let me treat her wounds."

The pirates eyed him threateningly, and he hastened to add, "You releasing her does me no good if she bleeds to death!"

Apparently the pirates, cruel as they were, saw the sense in this reasoning. They nodded to one another and the one holding Nayeli gruffly pushed the girl away from himself. Kaden dashed forward and caught her before she struck the ground, sinking to his knees while her frail, injured body fell limp in his arms. Almost at once, however, she found her strength and began to wriggle about, muttering worriedly behind her gag. Kaden hated to leave her bound up like that for another second, but realized that her injuries took priority.

"Hold still," he instructed, but Nayeli continued to struggle as he carefully lay her down on her back and stripped away some of the fabric from the edge of her skirt to tie around the cuts on her arm and leg. She winced as he pulled the knots taut, and ironically he was almost grateful for her pain as it kept her from moving too much. But now came the tricky part.

"Are you finished, then?" asked a pirate impatiently.

"I'm not gonna leave her tied up like this," Kaden insisted, hoping his enemies would rather humor him than go to the trouble of forcing him into those cuffs themselves. Thankfully, this proved to be the case, and the band of intruders grumbled amongst themselves without making a move.

Kaden wasted no time in carefully rolling Nayeli over on her good side so that he could deactivate the cuffs binding her hands. As expected, once free she immediately reached out to push him away. He caught her right hand in his left, paying no mind to her other hand which was weak from the cut arm. Still gripping her hand, he pressed down hard against her collarbone, pinning her to the floor, but he had to physically straddle her in order to hold her down.

Her head thrashed back and forth, and Kaden could tell she was fighting with all her might against the machine that kept her silent. Beneath his hand he could feel her chest heaving with effort as she struggled. She locked her eyes with his, tears pouring down her face—he almost lost his resolve and let her go. But as much as he hated having to force her into submission like this, he knew it was the only way to save her.

Steeling his nerves, he reached behind her head with his free hand and felt for the release mechanism on the back of the gag. He pinched hard once he found it, and the device fell loose from Nayeli's mouth.

"Ka—" she began to exclaim, but before she could get out a single word, he clapped his hand down hard over her mouth, gagging her all over again. For a moment she looked surprised, and a few sharp, irregular breaths puffed over Kaden's fingers. He stared down into her eyes, silently begging her to stop fighting him.

"Please, Nayeli..." he murmured. "I can't watch you die... I just can't!" He noticed that her left hand was no longer pulling against his grip, so he let go and reached slowly for his belt, still capping her mouth hard enough to immobilize her entire head. She gazed up at him with watery, terrified eyes. He could read in them every word she would have said to him had she been able.

Kaden gripped a small device on his belt, and leaned in even closer to his wife.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear, and with lightning speed he pulled away from her and snapped a small machine onto the belt of her dress. Nayeli disappeared in a flash of light.

"Why you—!" thundered one of the pirates, and Kaden barely turned in time to see a giant metal arm swinging toward him. The hulking brute easily smacked him across the room, where he smashed into the wall hard enough to leave a large dent, and fell painfully to the floor.

His whole body throbbed as he pulled himself to his knees, but Kaden smiled. The fact that they were angered by his sneaky move was proof that they would not have kept their end of the deal, and he was glad that he had been able to force the issue... But if they thought that they could get away with having their cake and eating it too, perhaps he could dare to hope the same.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

"Look out!" Alister shouted, but it was too late. The rogue pirate fired a bomb from the canon on his arm, and it hit Lieutenant Darren dead on. He screamed and flew backwards, landing hard in a patch of broken concrete.

Alister rushed to his side and fearfully examined his injuries. Shrapnel from the explosion had cut right through his armor, and a deep laceration across his waist was bleeding heavily. Much of the fur on his face and limbs had been singed right off, serious burns left in its place. He coughed and groaned, trying in vain to get up. Alister realized with a heavy heart that he was beyond help. The battle was still raging all around. There was no time to dwell on the inevitable.

"I'm sorry," Alister murmured, looking down into his friend's eyes with great compassion. Gasping for breath, Darren met his eyes calmly… and managed a weak chuckle. Alister lifted up his wrench, setting the shock level to maximum, and forced himself not to close his eyes as he drove it down, aiming for the heart.

He swore under his breath that this would be the last time. The last time he would have to fight on his own home planet. The last time he would have to perform a mercy kill. He charged back into battle with a vengeance, crying out in desperate rage.

The following moments passed in a blur of movement, pain, and blood. Alister ignored the minor flesh wounds dealt to him in the course of his frenzied crusade. He fought with impassioned brutality, his mind and body utterly disconnected from all sense and reason, until a voice from his comm unit informed him that the invading forces had begun their retreat.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden heard angry footsteps clomping toward him, and a sword or two slashing at the air. Instead of looking up at the advancing pirates, he glanced over to his right and saw a large wrench lying on the floor. He crawled toward it, pretending to be hurt worse than he actually was. Already he could feel adrenaline surging into his veins, and now that Nayeli was safe, his earlier fear had been completely replaced by boldness. The pirates laughed at him, advancing slowly while he made a show of his helplessness. He was grateful for their arrogance, and the chance it afforded him to defend himself.

As soon as he was close enough he thrust out his hand, seized the tool by the handle, and leapt to his feet. He charged at the surprised intruders with feral animosity, coiling his weapon behind him. The closest pirate was still in shock when Kaden struck, swinging with all his strength. The cheap metal of his torso crumbled against the force of Kaden's wrench, and the subsequent blow to his head reduced him to a twitching pile of scrap metal on the floor. Immediately the furious Lombax turned to the rest of the intruders with double the fierceness he'd unleashed upon the first. Thrashing his wrench back and forth like a lunatic, he repeatedly bludgeoned his foes who were too slow from shock to react in time. Within minutes Kaden stood victorious, surrounded by smashed, disfigured robotic components strewn all about the floor. He breathed heavily, watching for any signs of movement amidst the debris. When he was satisfied that his work here was done, he made a run for the door, calling for Aphelion on his communicator. But from the sound of things outside, the attack was already over.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

**_- Nayeli's Rescue— _Don't worry, the next chapter will explain. ;)**

**_- The Attack— _Hopefully it all sounds plausible. ^^' I had a hard time figuring out how to contain the whole thing in one chapter without moving things ridiculously fast. As always, I plan to explain this a little better in future chapters. If you don't like the way it is now, perhaps it'll make a bit more sense to you soon.**


	14. Relentless

**Foreword:**

**I love and hate this chapter. I've been both anticipating and dreading it for quite some time. This is the moment of truth. The point of no return. The story's greatest 'if only...' I hope with all my heart I've done it justice.**

* * *

"_You say you have strategy and military strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?"_

— _2 Kings 18:20_

« ... »

Alister struggled to calm his nerves as he, along with several other Colonels, hustled into the briefing room. The attack was barely a few hours behind them, and already they were being called into a meeting with their senior officers. He understood the severity of the situation, as did all the soldiers who had survived the battle, so he doubted this briefing was simply to let them know. Something of great importance was about to happen, and Alister was afraid to imagine what.

He and his fellow officers lined up as orderly as they could in their distress, and stood at attention before the dozen-or-so Generals sitting around the table in the room. The highest ranking officers of the Lombax Praetorian Guard looked almost as flustered as their subordinates, and they made little effort to carry themselves ceremoniously as they laid out the important information.

"This is a dark day for our kind," said the one sitting in the middle. "Most of the Guard's highest ranking officers were either captured or killed, and General Braxton is in a coma. Desperate times, as you know, call for desperate measures... Thus, we have decided to promote all of you to the rank of General. The Guard needs leadership, and although most of you are probably not ready for this promotion, we must ask you to accept it, and do the best you can with it. Can we count on you?"

No objections arose, but Alister could sense the fear radiating from each of his comrades.

"Good," said another General. "Alister Azimuth, step forward, please."

Alister's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't imagine any reason, good or bad, why he would be singled out from among the rest. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward and cautiously muttered, "Yes sir?"

"You have been chosen to receive Four-Bolt status for the foreseeable future."

Alister blinked in disbelief, wondering for a short moment if he was hearing things. At last he muttered, "Me?"

"With all due respect, you can't be serious," argued one of the newly promoted Generals. "He can't lead the Guard; he's only twenty-five years old!"

"He's more decorated, and has a better record than any other soldier his rank or his age," the senior officer explained. "Besides, General Braxton favored him. Since he's the highest ranking officer who's technically still with us, we should try to anticipate what he would have us do."

"But... aren't any of _you_ better suited to the position?" Alister asked. The pressure of his charge was driving him into a panic.

"Some of us will be granted Three-Bolt status, but Colonel Azimuth, the reason you were chosen for Four-Bolt is because of your position on the Council of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research. In these dire circumstances, it's more important than ever that we partner with the C.A.L.R. in deciding future courses of action. It may seem a bit extreme, but under the circumstances, I don't see as we have any other choice. Do you accept this promotion?"

Alister didn't know what to say. The weight on his shoulders felt like more than he could bear. He wasn't ready for this. He couldn't even imagine being the bearer of such responsibility. It was too much for him… And yet, he couldn't refuse. His race needed him, now more than ever. He had to find the strength to take on this challenge.

"Yes, sir," he asserted, sounding much more confident that he felt.

"Very well, then. I'm afraid there's no time for pleasantries, so it's effective immediately," said the general (as if things weren't already unorthodox enough). "All of you, head straight to the teleporter room. We're meeting with the Council of Elders in less than an hour."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden wrung his hands together as he sat anxiously outside the medical ward. He could hardly believe his misfortune, nor the luck that had followed. For the life of him, he still couldn't fathom why the space pirates had chosen his house as the playing field for their sick little game, but it was almost as much of a wonder that he had actually been able to beat them. That personal teleporter was a hobby project that he'd thrown together in his spare time to keep from being late to work on days when he slept in. He never imagined it would end up saving Nayeli's life. He was just glad the C.A.L.R. had already been programmed as the destination. Nonetheless plagued by worry, he'd jetted to the Center as soon as the attack was over, and sure enough he'd discovered, to his most profound relief, that Nayeli was in the care of the medical staff at his workplace.

He looked up when a nurse emerged from inside the ward, and immediately shot to his feet. "How is she?"

"She's just fine," the nurse reassured. "The cuts were deep, but clean, and since the bleeding was checked right away and no major nerves were touched, it was nothing a little Nanotech couldn't fix."

Kaden closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, resting his hand on his chest. "Thank God," he muttered.

"I'll fetch her for you," said the nurse, and she poked her head back into the room and called, "Nayeli? Your husband is here."

Not a second later the girl bolted through the door, ran up to Kaden, and slapped him clean across his face. Shocked, Kaden could only turn his head back toward her, and stare speechless at the livid expression blazing in her eyes.

"Why?!" she demanded, hot tears gathering at the base of her eyelids. "How could you _do that_ to me? I've never been so scared in my life! I thought... I'd never see you again."

Kaden couldn't form words into a reply. She held his gaze for a long moment, gasping and biting her lip as sobs began to rise in her throat. Finally she just stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"Nayeli..." Kaden hugged her close, his left cheek still throbbing. When he thought of what could have happened and where she might be right now if things had gone just a little differently, he was grateful to accept her anger and her tears as an alternative. Even so, he hadn't expected this type of reaction. Nayeli was so mild, so gentle… It was strange for him to see a side of her that could be harsh—fiery, even. But shocking though it was, he was glad. Glad to know that his wife loved him with a passion that was both gentle and fierce—that she had feared for his life as much as he had feared for hers.

The nurse stepped up beside him and tapped his shoulder, calling his attention away from Nayeli. "I'm really sorry," she said, "but we're getting new patients faster than we can keep up, and since she doesn't need any further treatment—"

Kaden nodded. "I understand. We'll get out of your hair. Thank you so much!"

The nurse smiled fondly. "You're welcome,"

With his arm wrapped tenderly around Nayeli's shoulders, Kaden walked her to the west-side lobby, where the rushed panic of the relief effort was least severe. Upon singling out a bench in an isolated corner, the two of them sat down. He took her left hand in his own and studied her face for a moment, a bit worried by her silence. She looked calm—at least, more so than she had when she'd first come out of the medical ward—but still flustered. It looked like she had something she wanted to say.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Nayeli turned her head to meet his eyes. "I'm fine…" she whispered, "thanks to you."

For the first time since this ordeal had begun, she managed a faint but genuine smile. Kaden returned it with gusto, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

They both looked up when a voice on the PA announced Kaden's name, instructing him to report to the Security Wing with his engineering staff.

Kaden sighed and turned to Nayeli. "You should wait here for a while. I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Okay."

Kaden stood to leave, but before he could take a step forward, Nayeli reached out and grabbed his arm, quickly adding, "But before you go, there's something I need to tell you."

"What?"

She hesitated for a moment, then muttered in a solemn voice, "When they scanned me for internal injuries... they found something."

Kaden's heart skipped a beat, and he almost gasped in worry. He was surprised to see Nayeli smile at him, her eyes sparkling.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The atmosphere was tense in the meeting room where leading members of the military and the Center for Advanced Lombax Research had convened to discuss the recent tragedy. A thick air of fearful disbelief hung over everyone present, causing some of them to show extreme agitation while others were stunned into a still, somber silence. Not until they were all seated for a solid minute did anybody dare to speak, and there was no mincing of words or beating around the bush as to why they were there.

"Why didn't we see them coming?" asked one of the generals who had promoted Alister.

One of the scientists present rose and proceeded to explain. "They were using the most impressive large-scale cloaking device I've ever heard of. Apparently it was designed to not only hide the enemy armada, but actually target and scramble sensory technology. When they dropped the cloak, they directed the full force of the machine at our defense grid, causing it to overload."

The discussion carried on quickly after that, with statements, questions and answers being tossed back and forth across the table too fast for Alister to keep track of who was speaking.

"Where did the space pirates get ahold of something like that?"

"It's impossible to know. We weren't able to analyze the device because it was destroyed in the crossfire."

"Should we assume that more of them exist?"

"Unlikely. A machine of that caliber is undoubtedly difficult and time-consuming to make. We can't rule out the possibility, though."

"The fact of the matter is, our existing technology is clearly not enough to protect us anymore. We need to explore other options for defending ourselves against future attacks."

"Let's not get hysterical, though. The attack came as a shock, no doubt, but it didn't really do all that much damage considering that they only attacked one city and were quickly driven out."

"The scale of damage isn't the biggest issue. Before today, no one thought an attack on Fastoon was even possible. Even if _no_ damage had been done, the fact that they were able to penetrate our defenses says enough!"

"What do you propose we do, then?"

"Our best engineers will be assigned to repairing and upgrading the defense grid, but that alone won't be enough. We need to invest in better offensive technology as well."

"You say that like we haven't been! We're working as hard as we can on developing weapons, but just like the Guard, the C.A.L.R. lacks sufficient manpower to keep up with demand."

"So what's the verdict, then? Are we doomed to slowly crumble under the collective force of these pinprick attacks until there's nothing left of our proud civilization?"

"How can you say that? We're Lombaxes! We don't crumble under our problems, we innovate solutions! Our race arose victorious from under the grip of the Cragmite Empire. Surely it can survive the onslaught of a few space pirates and petty terrorists."

Alister was about to interject when the door to the meeting room opened suddenly with no explanation. All heads turned to see the familiar though unpleasant face of Percival Tachyon as he entered.

"What are you doing here?" one of the Guards asked with an exasperated sigh. "We're in the middle of an important meeting."

"I know," the Cragmite muttered. "Please forgive my intrusion, but considering the grave circumstances, I didn't want to trouble you to convene again on my account. I assure you, it is a matter of utmost urgency."

The gathering of Lombaxes looked curiously around at one another. True to their nature, even in circumstances as dire as these, they could not resist the urge to seek an explanation for such a promising mystery.

At the general consensus offered in silence by all present, Councilwoman Ulima took the initiative to say, "Very well. You may proceed, but hurry."

"Of course."

Tachyon slithered over to the presentation screen at the far end of the room and plugged a small data unit into one of the ports along its side. "First of all, let me assure you that what concerns Lombaxes concerns me as well. I consider you my own people, and as such, the state of the galaxy has been a lifelong concern of mine. For the past few years, I've been developing some technologies that I believe can aid us greatly toward securing peace in Polaris."

The presentation screen began to show a series of blueprints for various weapons, vehicles, and other assorted gadgetry, while Tachyon explained each of them in turn. Every Lombax in the room was awestruck at the complexity of Tachyon's designs. Who would have thought that a Cragmite raised among Lombaxes would manifest such unprecedented brilliance? Each schematic he presented was more detailed and groundbreaking than the previous one, and against all odds, Alister's heart began to fill with hope as his mind began to fill with plans for how this prospective technology could be used to defend against the evils that threatened their galaxy.

What must have been a very long presentation seemed like a few short moments to Alister's forgotten concept of time, and Tachyon concluded with the strong suggestion, "I propose we begin manufacturing these as soon as possible. You'll find the details of my proposal in the file I've just transmitted to each of your stations."

In unison they all reached for a button in front of them which caused a screen and keypad to emerge from a small compartment in their section of the table. All was quiet for a few moments as they reviewed the information. It was Hadrian who at last broke the silence, cynically pointing out, "It would take years to finish all this."

"Not necessarily," Tachyon said. "If I were put in charge of the project, I believe I could do it in approximately thirty-two weeks. Of course, I would need some... special provisions."

"_That's_ an understatement. You would need access to every restricted area in the whole Center—not to mention most of our highly classified technology."

Alister repressed the urge to growl in annoyance, once again reminded of why Kaden felt such animosity toward his old rival. An almost hurt expression crossed the ugly face of the young Cragmite, and he humbly admitted, "Unfortunately, there is not much I can say to assuage your understandable concern… I cannot change my history. I ask only for the chance to change my future."

A faint murmuring began to arise, and councilwoman Ulima spoke up to calm the brewing chaos before it could manifest. "Thank you, Mr. Tachyon," she said. "Please allow us to consider your proposal in private."

"Of course." Tachyon bowed, and graciously took his leave. No sooner had the doors shut behind him, the inevitable argument erupted.

"I don't think we should do it. This is Percival Tachyon we're talking about."

"Just because he's a Cragmite doesn't mean he can't be trusted."

"But it _is_ reasonable cause for doubt."

"Think about it, though. Has he ever shown even the slightest sign of being disloyal to us?"

"But there's no guarantee his loyalty comes from genuine sympathy. We should not allow him into a position of influence when he might turn on us."

"What good would turning on us do him? We would retain control over any machinery built, regardless of who designed it."

"But there's still risk involved, isn't there? We must consider every possible scenario."

"We don't have _time_ to consider every possible scenario! Just look at these designs. They're amazing!"

Alister remained decidedly withdrawn from the debate, listening carefully to every point that was raised. He was sad to see that so much suspicion and fear had arisen from the simple fact that Tachyon was a Cragmite. Had they all forgotten the magnitude of the threat already encroaching upon them? Allowing a Lombax-raised Cragmite access to sensitive information seemed to him a small gamble compared to the bleak future looming on the horizon if things didn't change.

The discussion escalated almost to the point of shouting, when a loud, authoritative voice firmly said, "Enough!"

All eyes turned to councilwoman Ulima. "Obviously there is no chance of a consensus on this issue, so the only question is: to whom falls the authority to make the decision?"

Alister felt like his heart had stopped as he remembered his recent promotion. It would take a bit of figuring and explaining amongst the others before the fact came to light, but Alister saw it already, clear as day. _He_ was the one who would choose this day the future of his entire race. Barely an hour ago he had received his position of power, and already he was obliged to make a life-or-death decision.

He struggled to control his breathing, and to ignore the surprised eyes that flitted expectantly toward him pair by pair. He had to keep it together, for the sake of everyone depending on him. The pressure was suffocating, but at the very least, he was grateful that he already knew what he had to do.

« … »

The moments after the dismissal of the meeting left Alister lightheaded, and his fur standing on end. He could barely breathe for the weight on his shoulders. How quickly he had aged in these past few years! How unceremoniously he'd been flung to both a height and depth that few ever reach… He had to see the end of this era of bloodshed soon, or he feared he would not be able to maintain his sanity much longer.

Head held high in an effort to feign confidence, he told the rest of the soldiers that he had something to take care of here at the Center, and to return to base ahead of him. He was relieved that no one thought to ask any questions. Truthfully, he just wanted to get away from his rank for a short while. Like the child he felt he was, he needed some encouragement—someone to talk to with whom he could be himself and not have to worry about being judged or scrutinized. Besides, after that attack, he had to check on his best friend, anyway.

Rather than call Kaden on his communicator, he just used the tracking system to pinpoint his location and quietly made his way there. He found him in the Security Wing haphazardly ordering around a team of traumatized engineers. Alister sighed sympathetically. The poor kid was probably looking at a month of double shifts repairing and upgrading the planetary defense grid, and judging by the panicked look on his face, he was already feeling the strain. Perhaps he too would welcome the opportunity to leave the stress of his duties for a few moments and talk with an old friend.

"Excuse me," he called out. "I'd like a word with the Keeper of the Dimensionator in private."

The whole team stopped what they were doing to look up at him, and Kaden smiled in relief upon meeting his eyes. Without a word he abandoned his post and rushed toward Alister, grinning in excitement. Thankfully he had the sense not to blurt out a happy greeting before Alister led him to a small, secluded room where they would have some privacy. Only then did Kaden exclaim, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Likewise," Alister returned. "What about Nayeli?"

Kaden sighed with what looked like a blend of relief and frazzled nerves, and uncertainly replied, "Had a big scare, but she's fine." He paused for a few seconds, then mysteriously added, "_Better_ than fine, actually…"

"What do you mean?" Alister asked.

"Well…" Kaden muttered, tapping his fingers together. His expression was bizarrely unreadable, at once looking both happy and terrified. He bit his lip like he wasn't sure how to reply and averted his eyes as though embarrassed. Oddly enough, this evasive, contradictory display communicated meaning to Alister as clearly as any words.

"No way…" he mumbled while his mouth broadened into a knowing grin.

"I know, can you believe it?!" Kaden exclaimed. "I'm gonna be a dad."

"Congratulations, Kade!" Alister said, unable to resist adding a snide remark. "It's about time! How long have you been married, again?"

"Shut up!"

Alister laughed without sympathy at the flushed, indignant scowl on Kaden's face.

"Actually, I have some good news too," he stated, his voice still unstable from laughter.

Kaden crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, wryly muttering, "Oh really?"

Alister proceeded to relay the monumental events that had flashed by after the attack had ended, and Kaden's ears perked with interest. He was dumbstruck to hear about Alister's promotion, and listened with rapt attention as his friend recalled the details of the meeting between the Council and the Guard. His face was alight with anticipation for the promised good news, but when Alister reached the end of the story and his decision regarding Tachyon, Kaden's expression darkened.

"What?" he muttered. "Alister, that's crazy!"

Alister blinked in surprise. He had thought that Kaden, at least, would understand what he was trying to do. "It's not crazy," he tried to explain. "Tachyon's inventions are exactly what we need to tighten our defenses, and the only accusation anyone can bring against him is that he's a Cragmite. I can't let prejudice stand in the way of innovations that might be our only hope for a better future."

"Alister, Percival Tachyon _cannot_ be trusted," Kaden asserted, motioning with his hands to illustrate his point.

Alister felt the sting of bitter disappointment. Kaden was the last person he wanted to defend his position against, and certainly the last person he expected to challenge him. Frowning in frustration, he countered testily, "Why, because he's a Cragmite?"

"Yes, because he's a Cragmite! Why would he want to help us knowing that we banished his entire race to another dimension?!"

"Because he knows they were a harsh, oppressive empire. He doesn't hate us, Kaden. We raised him."

"That's what scares me the most. I love our kind as much as you do, Alister, but I know we're not perfect. Just look at him! Look at where he came from! What are the chances that his life has been anything short of a nightmare?"

"All the more reason he should be shown compassion."

"Compassion, yes, but not trust. It's too big a risk."

Alister stared him down stubbornly for a moment of consideration, then pointed out, "Aren't you the one who always told me not to be so shy about taking risks?"

"This is different, Alister! You're risking a lot more lives here than just your own."

"Kaden, you haven't seen what I've seen out there; you have no idea what we're up against! If we don't start offering some stronger resistance, we won't survive. This is just how it works: you fight fire with fire."

"No, you fight fire with _water!_" Kaden snapped. "There's got to be a better way of solving this problem! Heck, fighting fire with fire wouldn't even be so bad! Design better weapons, build better defenses... but trusting Tachyon is like fighting fire with _oil_."

Alister gritted his teeth behind tightly closed lips and glared unyielding at Kaden's equally stubborn green eyes. It was like this most dear friend, who might as well have been his brother, was suddenly a stranger. The feeling of betrayal rose like bile in his throat, and coated his tone when at last he spoke.

"You know, Kaden, I can understand you not trusting Tachyon… but you should trust me."

At that Kaden softened. "Alister, I would trust you with my life… But you're asking me to put my wife's future in the hands of a Cragmite."

"Your wife's future is the biggest reason you should understand why this is necessary! Or maybe you don't love her as much as you think you do."

Kaden drew a sharp, ferocious breath, clenching his hands into fists, and Alister immediately regretted what he'd said.

"How—dare—you?" Kaden seethed in a chillingly low whisper. Never before had Alister seen such fire in his eyes.

He didn't mean it. Such cruel words directed at his best friend were only the overflow of the nigh unbearable pressure and frustration weighing on his tormented mind. He wanted to tell Kaden this—to take back his harsh comment—but before he had the chance, Kaden snapped in the heat of his unprecedented anger.

"Nayeli is _everything_ to me! I would die for her! I would _kill_ for her! And I'm well aware that someday I may have to. You think I don't know how serious this is?! You think I _want_ to raise my kid in a war-torn wasteland? Don't you know me better than that, Alister? Haven't we been friends for fifteen _freakin'_ years?!"

He lashed out both hands and shoved Alister with all his strength. Alister gasped as he staggered backwards, and when he caught his bearings he could only stare in shock at the fearless, furious expression on Kaden's face. His earlier desire to make amends dissolved in the building force of his own grief-driven anger.

"If you were anyone else, you'd be on your way to the detention wing right now," he stated coldly.

"If _you_ were anyone else, you'd be on your way to the infirmary," Kaden spat back.

If looks could kill, they both would've dropped like flies.

Many times in battle, Alister had seen magnificent structures that took years to build reduced to a pile of rubble in mere seconds. He had often lamented the unfairness of it—how destruction was so much easier and faster than creation. It was hard enough to think that this was true for works of metal and stone with no heart or soul to feel the sting of loss.

Heart pounding, Alister looked into the eyes of the friend who had stood by him faithfully since he was a heartbroken child bereaved of his father, and he could hardly believe what was happening right now. After all the good times they had, all the laughter and pain they shared, and all they had been through together… Was five minutes really all it took to drive a wedge between them that could never be removed?

In the months to come Alister would remember this moment with a myriad of mixed emotions, but right now he could only feel anger, fueled by pain and confusion. Unable to stand the sight of Kaden's face for another second, he turned around and silently walked away.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Alister's Promotion—_ I don't know how believable this development is, but it's a lot more believable than having Alister _already_ be a General at 25 years old. ^^' I did a little research on how promotions work in the actual military (of my country, anyway), and naturally it turned out to be a rigorous multi-layered process that I don't have the time or capacity to portray or even approximate in this fanfic. But I've applied my research to the best of my ability and done my utmost to make this ridiculously streamlined process as believable as possible, leaning on the desperate circumstances left in the wake of the recent attack.**

**-_ The Falling Out—_ I got very emotional while writing the argument between Kaden and Alister. T-T Lately I've been using Windows Speech Recognition to do most of my typing so as to give my hands a rest, and as the computer read lines back to me for correction I could hear my own voice getting heavy and sad. Even though I've been planning for this to happen pretty much since the beginning, it was still a tough pill to swallow. I felt so intensely for both Kaden and Alister in this scene that it was hard for me to accept what was happening between them. I can't believe such a huge development came about simply to justify a single line in the canon.**

**-_ Theme Song: "Faint" by Linkin Park—_ It's not a _perfect_ fit, but the raw emotion of the song, as well as most of the lines (especially in the chorus), describe what Alister and Kaden were both feeling during their fight in this chapter.**


	15. Deception

**Foreword:**

**The one big downside to writing a backstory fic is that everyone already knows what happens in the end. DX Well, despite this story's obvious conclusion, I was determined to hatch at least _one_ plot thread that would take my readership by surprise, and this chapter is my attempt. I get ten points if nobody saw it coming. ;P**

* * *

"_Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood."_

— _Psalm 7:14_

« ... »

Kaden stared blankly ahead at the empty space outside his ship. Only the steady recession of the celestial bodies in the distance proved that they were moving. He sighed from frustrated boredom and leaned his head back against his seat, wishing for Lumos to appear in the distance before he lost his mind. He'd recently come to hate long, quiet trips with nothing to do, because the empty silence encouraged him to reflect on his life. It used to be that his worst memories were years behind him, buried beneath a mountain of joy—but not anymore. Now there was a more fresh wound to bleed anew whenever he found himself reminiscing, and that alone made him loath to endure any form of solitude.

He was about to strike up a conversation with Aphelion when he heard the soft muttering of a familiar voice, and felt her head come to rest against his shoulder. He turned his head to look at her, smiling with admiration.

"You awake?" he whispered.

"Mm-hmm," Nayeli mumbled over a yawn. "Thanks for letting me sleep."

"No problem," Kaden replied. "I'm still surprised you wanted to come at all. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I'll be fine," she said. "I'm not due for another month. Besides, I've been wanting to visit Lumos for a long time now, and this might be my only chance before I become a full-time mom." She ran a hand over her swelled stomach, smiling tenderly.

Kaden could hardly believe he was only a month away from being a father. The idea of having his own child to raise and care for was both thrilling and frightening, but like any adventure, he would tackle it with the determination and enthusiasm that had brought him this far. He was even grateful for the timing in a sense, because preparing for the baby had helped him keep his mind off _other_ things.

"So, what do you plan on doing while you're there?" he asked. Nayeli knew he wasn't going to stay in town, and she assured him that it was all right, but Kaden was curious what she had in mind to fill a week by herself.

"I want to try and make peace with an old friend of mine," she said. "We had a big fight a long time ago and we haven't spoken since."

Kaden held her gaze for a silent moment and blinked a few times. "You're not very subtle, are you?"

"Kaden... it's been six months."

"Seven, actually."

"Long enough. You can't pretend you've forgotten about him. I remember how upset you were when you came home that day."

Kaden bit his lip and shamefully averted his eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's okay; I got over it..."

Nayeli reached over to place her hand on his cheek and turned his face back toward her. "But _you_ never did. You haven't been the same since it happened. Kaden, the bond you and Alister have is special. You shouldn't be so quick to abandon it."

Kaden sighed and quietly relented. "Okay... I'll talk to him when we get back to Fastoon."

Nayeli smiled and gave him a satisfied kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad to hear it. He didn't get to see your wedding. It would be terrible if he didn't get to see your son, either."

"So... have you decided on a name for him?" Kaden asked, glad for a chance to change the subject.

"Not yet..." Nayeli murmured. "Since you were kind enough to let me choose, I want to make sure I pick something you'll like."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

After dropping Nayeli off at their old home, Kaden headed for Krell Canyon. He felt strangely nostalgic as he flew over the chaotic industrial eyesore that was the Vullard settlement. Its homes and factories were built from a hodgepodge of random materials whose haggard appearance testified to how endlessly they'd been recycled. Few of the structures had roofs, and from a bird's eye view one could spy on the Vullards as they ambled around operating heavy machinery even uglier than their buildings that looked like it had been constructed entirely from pieces of other machines. Aphelion commented on how Vullard junkyards made Kaden's workshop look organized, and her pilot couldn't help but laugh.

On the outskirts of the settlement, near a small cave with sparks and smoke pouring from its entrance, Kaden landed. He hopped out of his ship and strode over, cupping his mouth and calling from a safe distance, "Hey, Voren, you in there?"

Inside, a Vullard (hunched over the most misshapen buzz saw Kaden had ever seen) looked up from his work and turned to face his visitor. Kaden didn't know if it was possible for Vullards to smile, but the old coot seemed happy enough to see him. Like most Vullards, he was more machine than organic, and bent double under the enormous can-shaped junk container attached to his back.

"Kaden," he greeted, shutting off his loud machine. "I didn't think you would actually come."

Kaden grimaced under a forced smile, his ears sagging involuntarily. If any intelligent creatures in the galaxy could be said to have more grating, unpleasant voices than Cragmites, it was Vullards. Poor Voren's words croaked from his throat, horribly accented by a deep mechanical warble that must have been caused by whatever cybernetic implant processed his speech.

"Hey, I'm a Lombax of my word," Kaden replied. "Besides, it's the least I could do since you never turned me in after all those times you caught me in the mines as a kid."

Voren made a torturous attempt at laughing. "That's true. Who would have thought that the juvenile delinquent I used to chase out of town would end up being so important. Thank you for taking the time to see me."

Kaden smiled and stepped inside the cave. "So, what do you need to tell me that's so sensitive it couldn't be done over radio?"

Voren's voice got even lower as he ventured to explain. "Yes… Forgive my paranoia, but you know trusting outsiders doesn't come easy to my kind."

Kaden nodded with a roll of his eyes and gestured for the Vullard to continue.

"A few years ago there was a raid on my settlement," Voren began.

Kaden tried not to look too unfazed by this news. Sadly, raids were becoming all too common in the Polaris galaxy (especially on Krell Canyon with its rich source of raritanium), but Kaden knew it was different when it was your home and you were right there in the thick of it.

"A friend of mine, Dugar, was lost," Voren went on. "We never found him, but with all the casualties we suffered, we could only assume he'd been killed." Here he inched closer to Kaden and quieted his voice as he added, "The thing is, I think he may be alive."

Kaden's eyes widened with intrigue. "Go on."

"As a prank, I had put a tracking device in one of his implants so I could sneak up on him and scare him. I thought I had lost the receptor box for it in the raid, but recently when I was fishing through my debris pile for useful junk, I found it."

"Don't tell me the tracker is still transmitting!"

Voren nodded his affirmative. "And guess where it says he is."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The Phylax Sector. It had taken a long time to fly all the way here, but this time the trip was far from boring, for Kaden's mind was full of questions. How could someone who was supposed to have been killed in a pirate raid several years ago suddenly turn up in a sector so far away from his home world? The only explanation that even came _close_ to making sense was that he had been captured, not killed, in that raid. But Kaden was hard pressed to imagine why any band of pirates would want to keep a Vullard captive. Vullards were slow, unattractive, and little valued by most other races. He hadn't had the heart to tell Voren that he doubted his friend was in fact still alive, but regardless, it took little effort for the kindly old junker to persuade Kaden to check it out for himself. The adventure-loving Lombax leapt at the chance to pursue such an exciting mystery... and truth be told, he didn't hate the idea of knocking around a few pirates after the stunt they pulled last year.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Aphelion announced that she had picked up some sort of structure on her long range sensors. Kaden compared the coordinates on the display to the readout on the receptor box of Voren's tracking device. They matched. Kaden approached with caution and squinted his eyes as the mystery destination edged into view, growing on the horizon until he could tell what it was.

A space station. A pirate base, from the looks of it. It had a fierce yet sloppy appearance, with gun turrets and other types of weapon arrays sticking straight out of the hull—a ghastly apparatus layered in multiple shades of dingy gray. Thankfully it wasn't very big, and Kaden was able to pinpoint the source of the transmission within a reasonable distance.

"All right, I'm going in," he announced. "Feel, you stay put. Shut down all your nonessential systems and wait for me to call. No one should bother you, but be prepared to defend yourself just in case."

As he said all this, Kaden was busy at work programming new coordinates into his personal teleporter. Already he could feel his heart beginning to race, danger coursing through his veins.

"Affirmative," Aphelion said. "Be careful, Kaden."

"Right." Kaden nodded, clipped the teleporter to his utility belt, and pushed the activation button.

In a flash of light his view of Aphelion's bulkheads disappeared, replaced with the dull, cluttered interior of a cargo hold. He glanced quickly in all directions, looking for signs of life, and breathed a sigh of relief at his luck. There wasn't a pirate in sight. Not willing to take any chances, he ducked behind the closest stack of crates for cover while he checked his instruments. The source of the transmission was close, but getting there without being noticed would be a challenge.

Without warning one of the crates behind him exploded, flinging him to the ground. Before he could react he felt a cold metal claw seize his body, and the next thing he knew he was being yanked into the air and dangled in front of a skull-shaped face with menacing yellow eyes that glowered at him from inside empty black sockets. "Thought ye could escape, did ya?"

The thing's arm electrified, and Kaden screamed as the shock jolted through his body. He fell limp when the torture ended a second later and the pirate gruffly muttered, "You're lucky I have orders not to _kill_ any of you troublesome lot!"

Kaden could offer no resistance as the pitiless creature dragged him from the cargo hold and a few paces down a dark corridor. He stopped at a large iron door and began typing something into a keypad beside it while Kaden tried to catch his breath from inside his crushing grip. Seconds later the door opened, and the pirate threw his captive inside. Kaden struck the metal floor with a grunt of pain, and the hopeless sound of the door slamming shut reverberated behind him.

Groaning from pain and frustration, Kaden struggled to his knees and looked up. The sight before him made his jaw drop.

This dim, windowless room was full of people. There were Vullards, Terrachnoids, a few scattered other races... and Lombaxes. All eyes turned to Kaden as he stared around him with his mouth hanging open. They looked almost as surprised as he was.

"Hey, isn't that a new Lombax?" asked a curious voice, and immediately the dozen-or-so Lombaxes present came rushing forward in unison, surrounding him like vultures and barraging him with questions.

"Where'd you come from?"

"How's Fastoon doing?"

"Is anyone looking for us?"

Kaden felt like he was having a bad dream. All the voices and faces pressing in on him from all around, all the questions surging like turbulent waves in the storm of his mind… Just when he thought he might pass out, a brown Lombax cut through the crowd and pushed them back, shouting, "Hey! Give the poor kid some space, will you? Hasn't he been through enough?"

He knelt down and grabbed Kaden's shoulders to steady him when he almost collapsed. "Sorry about that," he said. "We've all been here so long that we've forgotten how traumatized we were when we first arrived."

After taking a few deep breaths with his eyes closed and his face pointed at the ground, Kaden found the composure to look up at the kind stranger, who softly muttered, "I'm Dezmond."

Kaden's breath caught in his throat, and he gaped at the Lombax before him as though he were a ghost. It shouldn't be possible, but it couldn't be coincidence. He saw before him, clear as day, a face he'd seen in many pictures, with a name he'd heard in many stories.

"No way..." he exclaimed. "You're Nayeli's father!"

Dezmond gasped. "You know my daughter?"

"Well, yeah, I'm—kinda married to her."

Kaden had never seen someone's eyes get so big so fast. He leapt in with his own questions before Dezmond could speak.

"How did you get here? We thought you were killed in the raid on Lumos eight years ago."

"That's probably what they wanted you to think," said a scarlet Lombax nearby. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "We were _all_ captured in raids. Probably weren't even missed among all the other casualties, am I right?"

"Felix here thinks that the raids were an elaborate cover for kidnapping us," Dezmond said, suddenly testy and irritable.

Felix snapped right back, "Well, how else do you explain fifty-seven engineers captured in forty separate raids on sixteen different planets all getting dumped on a space station and forced to work together?"

Kaden jumped to his feet, his heart pounding with urgency. "What?"

A silver-furred female Lombax stepped forward to explain. "Everyone in here had distinguished themselves as inventors, physicists, or mechanical engineers of some sort before being taken from their homes."

"Do you know who's behind this?" Kaden asked.

She shrugged. "All we know is what they want. Ever since we were brought here, we've been forced to develop new technology. We have no idea what they're using it for."

Kaden swallowed. He didn't like the theories that were beginning to take form in his head, and the prognosis was getting worse by the second. Steeling his nerves, he asked his final question. "What have you designed?"

This time it was a Terrachnoid who answered, looking almost proud. "Oh, the usual—weapons, vehicles… There was the Cyclocannon, the Enforcer..."

A Vullard chimed in, "The battle armor."

Another Lombax added, "The mass cloaking device."

"Amazing things, if I do say so myself," the Terrachnoid stated. "It's incredible what the great minds of several different races can come up with when they actually work together."

"And nothing brings people together like death and torture threats," Felix muttered sarcastically.

Kaden saw the last eight years of his life flash before his eyes, starting with Dezmond's disappearance after the Lumos raid. Suddenly it all made sense. The pieces of an insidious puzzle fell into place, painting a horrifying picture in a decade of spilled blood. His chest tightened, and his limbs began to feel numb. As his vision started to blur, he fought the lightheadedness that threatened to overtake him. He couldn't afford to pass out now.

"So, what planet did they raid to get you?" Felix asked.

Kaden looked up at the crowd of Lombaxes and swallowed. "Fastoon," he said. "Six months ago—but they failed."

"What?" Felix's perplexed tone echoed the sentiment painted on the faces of everyone present. "What do you—?"

"Listen to me, everyone!" Kaden announced. "The one who orchestrated all this was Percival Tachyon!"

A chorus of gasps and murmurs rose up, and Kaden continued at double his original volume to keep from being drowned out. "He passed off your designs as his own, and right now he's in charge of a huge manufacturing effort backed by the Lombax Praetorian Guard."

"How do you know this?" the girl from before asked in disbelief.

"I'm the Keeper of the Dimensionator," Kaden said, to the further surprise of the dumbstruck crowd. "Plus, I wasn't captured in a raid. I came here today looking for someone who went missing years ago; I never expected to find—" He stopped mid-sentence. There wasn't time for this. "I have to warn Fastoon about Tachyon, so I'm either going to bust out of here now or die trying. I can't take you all with me, but I can give you a chance to escape, and I'd take it if I were you."

The Lombaxes looked around at each other with fear in their eyes, but they were no fools. Kaden could tell they believed him, and thus that trusting him was their only hope for survival. Interestingly enough, it was Felix who finally spoke on behalf of everyone. "So what's the plan?"

"Now, wait just a minute," barked a nervous voice, and the pink, octopus-like form of another prisoner skittered forth. "You Lombaxes might have a physical advantage in this type of situation, but we Terrachnoids are bound to be killed!"

"The same goes for us," said one of the Vullards.

"Stay here, then," Kaden instructed. "You're not in any immediate danger. It's the Lombaxes Tachyon has a vendetta against... Oh! Is there a Vullard here named Dugar?"

A Vullard standing a few paces away shied back in surprise. "That's me! How do you know—?"

"No time to explain, but if you ever make it back home, thank Voren for both of us."

Kaden didn't wait for a response before turning his attention back to the group. "Okay, what can you tell me about the specs of this station?"

"It's Defense Class, Level B, designed for maximum internal security," Dezmond explained. "I don't think there's any chance of escape without cutting off power to the entire station."

"But no power means no life support," Felix interjected. "So it's kind of a no-win. Besides, even if we could somehow shut down the main power grid, the backup system would activate too fast for us to be able to do anything."

Kaden thought for a moment, his tail thumping against his leg. Then he looked up with a sparkle of inspiration in his eye. "How long would it take the backup system to come online if the main power source were removed?"

Dezmond raised an eyebrow. "Removed? As in, _removed_ and not just shut down?"

Kaden nodded.

"Well, I think that sort of blow to the circuitry of the power grid would delay the backup generators by at least fifteen minutes."

"Then that's gonna have to be enough time for an uprising."

Kaden pulled the teleporter off his belt and opened it up, setting to work on the internal circuitry.

"What do you mean?" the female Lombax asked. "And what is _that?_"

"This," Kaden explained, "is a portable teleportation device. Right now I'm programming it to accept a larger subject than normal, as well as a couple new destinations. I'm gonna use it to get into the engine room, and then I'll teleport the main generator into outer space." He looked up at Nayeli's father and said, "I may need some backup. Will you come with me?"

Dezmond looked at him in amazement, and a knowing smile crossed his face. "Absolutely."

"Take this." Kaden pulled off the glove on his left hand and gave it to his father-in-law. "It's a modified Nano-Swarmer."

"But—"

"Don't worry about me, the glove on my other hand is a weapon as well. I'm going to have my ship attack the station as a distraction while we go for the power."

Kaden tapped the device on his wrist and said, "Did you get all that, Aphelion?"

"Affirmative," his ship's voice answered through the communicator. "I'm on my way now. Notify me when you've taken out the power and I'll pick you up in the docking bay."

"Perfect! Thanks, Feel!"

Kaden ended the transmission and looked at his audience. "Once we get the main power shut down, that'll be your chance to storm the station and try to escape."

A tremor shook the room, announcing that Kaden's plan was already in motion.

"All right," he shouted. "Here we go!"

He grabbed Dezmond's arm and activated the teleporter. A second later he was in a different room, and met by the familiar sight of space pirates all around. They jumped in surprise at seeing two Lombaxes appear out of thin air, but wasted no time in charging toward them.

Kaden tossed a few cryomines, which homed in on the approaching pirates and froze them solid. Then he and Dezmond each jumped behind one of the pirate-cicles for cover while the remaining enemies showered them with blaster fire. The two Lombaxes looked at each other and nodded, and Dezmond deployed a pod from his glove and lobbed it over his shoulder. The hive settled on the ground, and buzzing filled the air as nanosects swarmed toward their unsuspecting targets. When the sounds of screaming and buckling metal died down, Kaden held still for another few seconds before carefully poking his head out from behind his shelter. Satisfied that it was safe, he ventured further into the room with his partner close behind him.

The pair looked up in unison, and there before them was the primary power cell for the station. It stretched from the floor to the ceiling, pulsing with green energy. Without a word Kaden dashed over to it and smacked his device right onto its surface, pressing a button and feinting backwards. The power cell disappeared in a flash of light, leaving two huge vacant sockets. Immediately the room went dim and the mechanical hum in the background faded to silence.

Now came the hard part.

"We have to get to the docking bay, fast," Kaden exclaimed.

"Whoa, wait," Dezmond said. " 'We'?"

Kaden sighed and muttered, "Actually, I had an ulterior motive for bringing you with me. When I get out of here, I'll need another Lombax to corroborate my story… and I'm sure you want to see Nayeli."

For a brief, beautiful moment, Kaden saw his wife's tender, grateful smile on her father's face, and he tearfully murmured, "Bless you, son."

If not for the circumstances, Kaden would have beamed. "Don't mention it," he said. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Tachyon's Plot—_ Okay, here's the deal: I don't buy that Percival Tachyon was somehow smart enough to design technology light-years ahead of what the Lombaxes could come up with. So the revealing in this chapter was my idea to explain it (not to mention lend a cool edge to the final arc of the story ^-^).**


	16. So Weak

**Foreword:**

**Oh my goodness, this chapter is SOOOO late! DX I'm really sorry, everyone... These past few weeks have been so crazy-busy that I've barely even had time to _think_ about this story. Plus, the entire construct for the climax I had planned out went through several big adjustments that forced me to change the pattern I had in mind for writing the end chapters, which slowed down the process even more. _ In fact, this chapter was supposed to go on a bit longer and contain one more important scene, but I felt like I'd delayed it long enough and better post what I have before all my readers forget about me. So I apologize if you feel shortchanged by the relatively short length of this chapter considering how long you had to wait for it. T-T But the good news is that the busier I get, the more I gradually learn to manage my time better so that I accomplish more. I don't know how long the next chapter will take, but I'm making it one of my personal goals to finish it faster than this chapter. Even so, I've pretty much accepted by now that my dream of wrapping up this story by Christmas is simply not going to come true. :(**

* * *

"_But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors."_

— _Hosea 10:15_

« ... »

Almost there.

Some variation of that short, hopeful thought had found its way across Alister's mind almost every minute of every day for the past few weeks. _Almost there... Just a little longer... Soon it'll all be over..._

Tachyon's project was almost complete. He had reported just yesterday that only a few final procedures and safety checks needed to be completed before the new equipment would be ready for use. Alister could hardly contain his excitement. Surely this would put an end to the senseless violence plaguing his beleaguered galaxy. Decades ago the Lombaxes had won the War, and now at last they would finally win the battle as well.

Smiling contentedly, Alister shook himself from his reverie and looked around him. For the most part it was life as usual at Main Headquarters, albeit quieter and more peaceful than it had been in a while. Panels were beeping and Lombaxes were tending to their duties. A female soldier at one of the communication stations was trying to reason with some unheard party on the other end of her receiver. The Central Control Room looked the same as it had a year ago from the command chair that still hardly seemed like a seat of honor reserved for a high-ranking General. This would probably be the last time he sat here, Alister reminded himself gratefully as he remembered that General Braxton had awoken from his coma not long ago and would be returning to duty tomorrow.

So much good news. It seemed as though, after unbelievable hardship, things were finally looking up—and not a day too soon. He hoped that future generations would learn of these dark days from a safe and happy utopia in which no one had to live in fear of evil. Nothing would make him prouder than to know that he had taken part in bringing about such a future.

"All right, I'll tell him." The female soldier at the comm station took off her earphones and turned around to face Alister. "I'm sorry, General," she said, "but it's the Keeper of the Dimensionator. He insists on speaking with you."

Alister stiffened, his hopeful mood darkening at the mention of Kaden. It was too soon for them to be speaking again. He had a hard time admitting it even to himself, but deep down he was hoping that someday he and Kaden might settle their differences and be friends again. If they got in another argument before the past had time to heal, it might destroy any chance they might have otherwise had for restoring their relationship.

What was this about? Kaden was brash, but even he wasn't so disrespectful as to use an official military line to call about something that wasn't important. Alister had to try his best to act professionally and keep his emotions contained.

With a sigh he glumly muttered, "Put him through."

The officer tapped her console and Kaden appeared on the main view screen, sitting at the controls of his ship, with another Lombax sitting beside him. "Percival Tachyon is a traitor," he exclaimed. "You have to apprehend him immediately!"

Not this again. "And on what evidence have you based this accusation?"

"I was investigating an uncharted pirate base in the Phylax sector—"

"Without authorization, I might add."

"Alister, would you _shut up_ and listen to me for once?!" Kaden snapped, shocking Alister into silence. "There were over a dozen Lombax engineers being held on that station. They were all captured sometime in the past decade and forced to design technology ever since."

"It's true, General," his passenger interjected. "I was captured in a raid on the Lumos settlement eight years ago."

"On Lumos?" Alister muttered in surprise. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dezmond," he said, pausing awkwardly for a moment before adding, "Apparently this young man is my son-in-law."

Alister gasped as the older Lombax's face suddenly surfaced in his memory. He _was_ Nayeli's father... and that meant that Kaden's scandalous claim was absolutely true.

"Alister, most of their designs are the same inventions Tachyon presented last year," Kaden stated, his face a picture of seriousness. "You have to shut down his operation and arrest him _right now!_"

Alister needed no further convincing. He turned his attention to the nervous faces looking his way and began firing off orders. "Contact the C.A.L.R.! Tell them to locate and apprehend Tachyon immediately!"

"Yes, sir," said the girl at the comm station.

"And put me on full intercom; I have a message for everyone in Headquarters."

"Right. You're on now."

"This is General Alister Azimuth," he announced. "I need every battle-ready soldier this side of the building to meet me in the teleporter room, now!"

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Alister's team was met in the C.A.L.R. by a research supervisor, who looked flustered and out of breath.

"What's this about, General?" he asked.

"No time to explain," Alister said. "Where is Tachyon?"

"The last I heard he was in the Central Lab running some tests on—"

"Have a security team meet us there."

"Y-Yes, sir."

The supervisor rushed to the nearest command console while Alister led his unit from the room at breakneck speed. They raced past confused Lombaxes who stared after them with worry on their faces. Alister tried to ignore them as he pressed forward, lest their anxiety fuel his own.

He couldn't believe this. Kaden was right: Tachyon was a traitor. He wasn't sure what burned more—that he'd been betrayed by someone he trusted wholeheartedly, that the hope which promised him a better future had proven false, or that he had lost his best friend over this issue and he had been _dead_ wrong.

Upon reaching the Central Lab, Alister and his soldiers stormed inside.

"Tachyon!" Alister cried out, scanning the room for the treacherous Cragmite. His heart sank when he saw the creature sitting in the cockpit of one of his fiercest battle vehicles—a fully-loaded arsenal of a cockpit mounted atop four walking legs, each the width of a large tree. He gazed down at them from his lofty perch, and a sinister smile crept across his hideous face.

"Why, hello there, General Azimuth," he muttered with false congeniality. "You're just in time to see the ultimate demonstration of what my inventions can do!"

Half a dozen guided missiles launched from the vehicle, blasting toward the stunned Lombaxes.

"Run!" Alister screamed, and his soldiers scattered in all directions. The sound of several back-to-back explosions filled Alister with terror, but a quick look around after the smoke had cleared revealed that none of his men had been hit.

"Surround him," he ordered. "Don't let him get out of this room."

He heard a faint, muted chuckle descending from above, and looked up in curious disbelief at Percival Tachyon. As the Cragmite's cackle slowly transformed into a maniacal laugh, his ear-splitting voice filling the room like a blaring alarm, all the machines in the room began to move. Engines thrummed to life. Robotic legs stretched out and clanged against the metal floor. Suits of armor, as though possessed, walked forward of their own accord. Through the helmet portion of the suits peered pairs of eyes that appeared to be floating in liquid.

Alister watched all this in horror, unable to process what he saw with his own two eyes. It was like one of the nightmares that had haunted him during many of the sleepless nights he'd suffered through the last ten years—except it was real.

Once more the room exploded with the strobe of gunfire. Before any of the unprepared Lombax soldiers had time to react, half of them had been shot down. Alister heard screams of agonizing defeat all around him.

"Retreat!" Alister screamed, thinking only of getting his remaining soldiers out of danger. He brought up the rear as they all bolted for the door, and saw three more of them shot through the back before they could make it. He couldn't bear to watch, but his eyes refused to shut, intent on punishing him for his unforgivable lack of foresight.

As he crossed the threshold of the room he shouted, "Lock down the lab! Destroy everything and everyone inside!"

Before the frantic researcher could react to this order, the doors to the room were blasted clean off. Almost paralyzed with fear, Alister managed to turn around to see Tachyon and his forces pouring out into the halls of the Center. Surprised workers flew into a panic, and pandemonium ensued as innocent Lombaxes were chased down and brutally killed by machinery they had built with their own hands. The sight was more gruesome and more cruel than any of the countless massacres he'd ever witnessed on the field of battle.

"General Azimuth," the voice of one of his subordinates called out through the hellish chaos all around, and Alister returned to his senses with the realization that a lieutenant was pulling him away from the action. He witlessly followed him into a wayward alcove, where he could only muster up the sense to exclaim, "What's going on? What are those _things_ controlling our vehicles?"

"I think I recognize them, sir," said the lieutenant, gasping out his words. "They're Drophyds. Tachyon must've smuggled them in with the materials we imported from Planet Zaurik."

Alister let out a harsh, ragged breath, choking on his own amazement. Of course! All of Tachyon's 'inventions' were designed with a brainwave-reading sensory system akin to the technology used in the Dimensionator. Thus, even though they were designed to be manned by Lombaxes, they could in theory be used by any creature who could fit inside. It must've been no difficult task for Tachyon to sneak a few of the tiny fish-like aliens inside the Center, and then it was just a simple matter of placing them inside the finished battle mechs when no one else was on duty.

How could he have been so foolish?! How could he have overlooked something so important?! Was he so desperate for a chance to help his people that he had blindly accepted promises of change in the mouth of a silver-tongued liar?

And now it was too late. Tachyon's technology was being manufactured all over Fastoon, to say nothing of other Lombax planets and space stations. That meant that almost every place in the galaxy where there were Lombaxes, there was also an enemy munitions base, hiding in plain sight and waiting to destroy them.

"What should we do?" the lieutenant asked fearfully.

Alister turned to him, his face awash with childlike dread. What _could_ he do? How could he possibly make this right?

"I'll slow them down as much as I can," he said. "You contact the Elders. Tell them to evacuate the Center, and help the scientists get out. Make sure word gets out to all Lombaxes across the galaxy what's happening."

"Yes, sir!"

The lieutenant saluted and sped off, leaving Alister to face his demon alone. Taking a deep breath, the young general activated his hoverboots and set off in the direction Tachyon had gone. He had to do everything in his power to keep the Cragmite's revolution from penetrating the walls of the C.A.L.R.

When he turned a corner and saw Tachyon's entourage plowing through a wide corridor, he charged forward without thinking. As he prepared to blast the Cragmite with the full strength of his weapon's electric shock, a huge machine similar to the one Tachyon commanded roared at him from the side and knocked him hard against the wall. He smashed into the wall head-first, and even as he collapsed into a limp heap on the ground, he already felt his senses getting dull and his vision fuzzy. Indistinct shapes hovered over him while voices whispered softly as though from far away. Just before he lost consciousness he recognized a short exchange between one of Tachyon's troopers and the Cragmite himself.

"Shall we finish him, Majesty?"

"Perhaps not yet. He might make a good shield for my throne during the battle."

« … »

Alister awoke to disoriented sensations that were unpleasantly familiar. Bright light like fire. Darkness like smoke. The smell of ash rising in the air. Faint noises that built in his deadened ears until they were deafening. Screaming; wailing; explosions and crashing, crumbling stone. The sounds of death and destruction.

He lifted his throbbing head and looked up. No longer was he inside the fortified walls of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research, and his hope that Tachyon's ambition could be contained therein died as he saw Fastoon's Capitol crumbling under siege before his very eyes.

When he tried to move he couldn't, and he realized that his arms and legs had been bound with energy cables to the cold metal surface that he felt against his back.

"Awake, are you?" a hard voice hissed from behind. Alister craned his head as far back as he could and saw Percival Tachyon poised regally at the controls of his battle throne. He leered down at his captive with giddy fascination radiating from his beady yellow eyes. "Take a good long look, Lombax," he instructed, gesturing to the view all around. "This is the last time you will ever see your precious planet in all its glory."

Alister struggled with his bonds and not surprisingly failed to get free. He gasped in broken-hearted frustration, letting his face fall so that all he could see was the metal feet of Tachyon's war machine as it stalked along, ravaging the streets of his beloved home.

"Oh, what's the matter, General?" the Cragmite mocked. "You can't really be _that_ surprised."

"Why are you doing this?" Alister asked, his voice quivering with pain and confusion.

"Why?" Tachyon repeated. "Would you care to guess?"

"The Cragmite Empire needed to be defeated! I thought you understood that!"

"You mean you thought that you had successfully brainwashed me into accepting your pompous, self-righteous philosophy? Good. That's what I was going for."

"We trusted you! We had mercy on you!"

"You _enslaved_ me! Doomed me to a wretched existence as a cosmic joke! But now the joke is on you. The once proud and powerful race credited with the defeat of the Cragmite Empire will be wiped out by the only Cragmite who they in their arrogance allowed to live—by weapons they built with their own hands! Can you imagine a sweeter irony than that? Can you?!"

Tachyon erupted into a fit of laughter, and his cruel, ear-splitting voice shrieked through the air almost as loud as the explosions that rang all around.

Alister looked once more at the carnage before him, overcome by grief. Tachyon's bloodlust was everywhere. Innocent Lombaxes fled in terror as their city crumbled all around them. Thousands of Drophyd mercenaries ravaged the planet and its people without conviction, using technology supposedly built for peace. A gorgeous sunset was marred by the tendrils of smoke that streaked up into the sky from burning buildings.

Sunset? Just how long had he been unconscious?

Nearby an unfortunate group of young Lombaxes scattered like frightened insects from Tachyon's war machine. A boy among them, probably no older than seventeen, lost his footing and fell to the ground. He had no time to get back on his feet—only to glance up at the giant metal leg bearing down upon him. Alister saw the helpless fear in his eyes just before he disappeared beneath the foot of Tachyon's five-ton mech.

Alister gasped out a ragged breath. His heart felt like it would burst.

"Stop…" he murmured feebly. "Stop this, please!"

He didn't want to give this traitor the satisfaction of seeing him beg, but his grief had driven him to madness, and he was compelled against his will to do the only thing he could.

"A soldier like you should understand my ambition," Tachyon stated mockingly. "To avenge my people, secure their future, and destroy any threat to them or to myself."

"It's _not_ the same," Alister bellowed.

"Ashes to ashes," Tachyon muttered with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "You're guilty by association as far as I'm concerned. All of you are."

Then the Cragmite's aura darkened, and his tone grew harsh. "There are no words to describe the depth of my hatred for your race. I will not rest until each and every one of you has tasted the sting of my perfect revenge."

Alister's heart sank into a sour stomach. He kept silent, knowing there was nothing he could say that would stir the callous soul of Percival Tachyon.

All he could do was watch the bloody massacre he was powerless to stop. His emotions wailed and his insides twisted more with every minute of the carnage he was forced to witness. Every building he saw topple, every child he saw searching for their parents, every splash of fresh blood that painted the armor of Tachyon's troopers, drove the knife deeper into his chest. No torture could be worse than this.

There was no telling how long it went on... minutes?... hours? It felt like an eternity. By the time the energy tethers binding him to Tachyon's mech finally turned off and released him, he was as still and listless as a rag doll, and just as such did he fall to the ground below with all the vitality of a dead body.

He didn't even flinch when he heard Tachyon instruct his troopers to kill him. He had half a mind to let them. But his survival instincts took over when he looked up and found himself staring down the barrel of a blaster. The vile yellow eyes of the Drophyd sentry on the other end were as cold as the fluid in which the creature floated. Alister balled his fists, scraping his knuckles against the cracked pavement so hard that they bled. He couldn't relinquish his life so easily. Not if there was still a vestige of hope left to fight for.

With animal agility he dove under the path of his would-be killer's blast. The sentry was too surprised to counter fast enough when Alister zipped in front of him. Within the same breath the enraged Lombax snatched his weapon and turned it on him, firing without mercy. The water tank on the trooper's suit shattered, and the tiny Drophyd tumbled out, falling to the ground with a splat. The vacant armor ceased to function, and its former occupant flopped helplessly on the ground like the sniveling piece of shark bait it was.

Alister winced in pain as a sharp burning sensation split through his shoulder, and reached across his chest to cradle a smoldering flesh wound. Of course there were still two more more troopers, and he'd dropped his blaster after being shot.

He looked up at the metal bodies as they stepped toward him, brandishing their weapons with intent to kill. Alister hung his head in defeat. It looked like this was the end for him.

Suddenly an armored vehicle zoomed into view, vigorously firing off plasma bolts from a turret on its roof. The armor of the unprepared Drophyds was shredded to scrap in a matter of seconds, leaving a dumbfounded Alister to stare toward his rescuer. The hovertank's hatch opened and a Lombax wearing the uniform of a Praetorian Guard emerged and reached a beckoning hand down to Alister.

"General Azimuth," he greeted with a tone of utmost urgency, "Your presence is required at a meeting of the Council of Elders, _now_."

Alister huffed in frustration. A meeting? Now? Tachyon was leading a full-scale assault on Fastoon. This was no time for discussing the problem. But at the same time, he understood their reasoning. The Guard was doing its best to fight back, but clearly they were in over their heads. Something drastic needed to be done, and it was up to the scientists—not the soldiers—to figure out what. Besides, there was nothing more he could accomplish on the field of battle until his wounds had been treated.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped up to the hovertank and reached for the soldier's hand. Twilight was fading, and there was barely enough light left to see by.

The sun had set on the darkest day in Lombax history.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Theme Song: "Devastation and Reform" by Relient K—_ This song is a pretty self-explanatory summary of what's going through Alister's head, both now and in the recent past... Sadly, though, the hopeful note at the end doesn't really apply. T-T**


	17. Cruel Fate

**Foreword:**

**I know I sound like a broken record, but... I'm really sorry this chapter took so long. The past few weeks I've been distracted by Danny Phantom and the music video it inspired me to make. But fear not! I haven't forgotten my pet project, and I finally finished chapter 17. And I'm telling you right now, chapter 18 is gonna be _hard!_ DX Pray for me. T-T**

* * *

_"They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care... You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend."_

— _Psalm 88:5,18_

« ... »

The moment the Lumos settlement came into view, Aphelion was rattled by a huge impact.

"What was that?" Dezmond exclaimed.

"The settlement's aerial defenses have opened fire on us," the ship explained.

"Oh, perfect! The planet is on high alert; the defenses must be set to attack any approaching vessel."

"Hang on," Kaden shouted. "I'm gonna try to outmaneuver them. If we can make it to the surface we should be okay."

Kaden jerked back on the joystick and the ship lurched upward, followed by an impressive series of banks, loops, and barrel rolls that left poor Dezmond clinging to the edges of his seat for dear life. Aphelion was grazed a few more times, warning lights and alarms blinking all across her display. Kaden's knuckles were turning white on the joystick; sweat was trailing down his forehead. Finally they dropped below 500 feet, and Kaden sighed in relief as he eased up on the controls.

"We're out of range," he said. "The air defenses can't reach us anymore."

"Warning! Warning!" Aphelion announced. "Primary engines have sustained heavy damage. I cannot remain airborne for much longer."

"Switch to auxiliary thrusters and keep them at maximum output," Kaden instructed. "Looks like we're in for a bumpy landing."

Sure enough, the ground was approaching at high speed. The tops of buildings swept under them at dangerous proximity, and the gap was steadily closing. Each one threatened louder to become the windshield to the bug that was Aphelion.

"Where will we be putting down, then?" Dezmond asked in a timid voice, shying back in his seat as if from the buildings passing them on all sides.

"I know the address where Nayeli is staying," Kaden said. "From what I remember, there's a pretty big backyard."

"Are you insane?! You can't expect to land the ship that accurately in this condition! You'll put my daughter in danger!"

"Your daughter is also my wife, and with all due respect, she's already in danger," Kaden said. "But there's no way I'm gonna let a little engine trouble keep me from getting to her side where I can protect her."

Dezmond stared dumbstruck at Kaden, his expression somewhere between awe and morbid fear.

Kaden turned his attention back to the controls, his teeth grit and his eyes open wide in intense concentration. After a few more near-misses involving skyscrapers, the residential district at last came into view. A grin broke through the anxiety on Kaden's face when he saw Callista's house on the horizon, coming up fast as his ship lost altitude.

"Brace for impact," he shouted as he cut the engines, struggling to hold the joystick steady. He strained to keep his eyes open until the house was close enough to see the color of the drapes inside the windows, then snapped them shut just before the ship crashed.

They took a sizable chunk of the fence with them when they tore into the lawn, skidded across the yard, and demolished the dividing wall on the opposite side.

Only after they had come to a complete stop did Kaden dare open his eyes. He breathed a deep sigh as he released his death grip on the joystick, relieved, and a little surprised, that he and Nayeli's father were both unharmed—although the look on Dezmond's face was reminiscent of how Alister used to look whenever Kaden drove him anywhere. If not for the dire circumstances, Kaden might have smiled at the memory.

"Aphelion, what's your status?" he asked.

The ship didn't reply.

"Feel?" He checked the systems manually and his face darkened. "No good. Her onboard computer is fried, and her engines are badly damaged. She'll need some major repairs before she'll be able to fly again."

"That's all right," his passenger unsteadily replied. "I've had the feeling this would be a one-way trip for the past few minutes."

Kaden pressed the manual hatch release, muttering under his breath, "sorry, girl."

The two Lombaxes hopped down to the charred ground beneath their wreck, and Kaden immediately glanced over at the house. In the threshold of the open back door, a dark-furred young lady stood frozen in wide-eyed wonder.

"Oh, my…" she muttered, short of breath. Suddenly she took off running back into the house without shutting the door. Even as her voice faded into the distance he could hear her exclaim, "Nayeli, Nayeli! It's Kaden; he's here!"

That was all the welcome Kaden needed. He was racing through that open door before it could stop turning on its hinges, pursued closely by his eager companion. Following the sounds of anxious female voices, he flew through the kitchen and burst into the living room, where he locked eyes with his wife as she gaped at him in astonishment. In the time it took her to stand up, Kaden crossed the room and gathered her into a tight embrace.

"Kaden, what's going on?" she asked nervously. "Why is—?"

She stopped cold, her whole body suddenly frozen as she looked past her husband. Kaden followed her gaze with a knowing smile and stepped aside. She had noticed the other Lombax who had appeared in the doorway.

Nayeli and her father held one another's eyes for a long, silent moment before either of them found the breath to speak.

"D-Daddy?" the girl murmured at last, tears gathering in her eyes. With all the grace of an injured swan she ran into her father's arms, meeting him halfway across the room. The old Lombax teared up instantly and squeezed his daughter tight.

"Oh, Nayeli," he choked past the tears. "My little girl… I thought I'd never see you again!"

"How is this possible?" Nayeli asked in disbelief. "I thought you were dead."

Kaden donned a grateful smile while he watched them together, reunited after eight years. He couldn't imagine the emotions his wife was experiencing as her father hugged her close and tried to explain in broken sentences what had happened to him. For a few brief seconds Kaden saw the innocent thirteen-year-old girl he'd fallen in love with at first sight, crying in her father's arms like a little child.

Out of respect, however, he chose not to let it last any longer than that. He quietly slipped away, mindful of the footsteps trailing close behind him. Once he was safely cloistered away in another room, he turned around and made eye contact with his old nemesis for the first time in years.

"Callista," he greeted in a neutral tone, unable to think of anything to add to her name that would be appropriate.

She looked the same as always, but to Kaden's surprise her expression was completely different from the distrustful glare that had haunted him throughout his brief engagement to Nayeli. Her arms weren't crossed, for one thing, and her eyes were soft and remorseful.

"Well, Kaden..." she muttered. "Clearly I owe you an apology."

"Ya think?" Kaden spat. Despite his better judgment, he couldn't contain his bitterness.

Callista drew her head back and bit her lip. Apparently she was struggling to heed her own better judgment and not go on the defensive.

"Look," she said. " I know I was wrong to treat you the way I did. It's just… The way things happened between you and Nayeli was—such a shock, and I—" (she paused to take a deep breath) "—just couldn't handle it, I guess."

She cast down her eyes in shame, and Kaden was surprised to find himself softening toward her. He couldn't believe she was actually _apologizing,_ and her face was a picture of sincerity.

"Please understand," she went on, "Nayeli was my best friend since I was a kid. She was always so kind and so trusting; I couldn't stand the thought of anyone taking advantage of her."

Kaden heaved an understanding sigh and looked at her with gentle eyes. "I care about Nayeli just as much as _you_ do," he said.

"I know that now," Callista replied. "I think I convinced myself otherwise because I felt like you were taking her away from me…"

Callista reached up to cover her mouth, looking like she was about to cry. In a pitiful tone she whimpered, "It was so hard for me… I felt like I was losing my best friend. You have no idea how painful that is."

Kaden felt his chest tighten, and a distant but familiar sting seized his heart. He swallowed hard, fighting back tears as he embraced a new sympathy for this girl who he had practically hated five minutes ago.

"I think I can imagine," he whispered.

Suddenly the sound of an alarm cut through the air, booming so loud that Kaden imagined he felt it. He and Callista rushed to the window to look outside. In the distance near the center of town, the spire atop the Galactic Communications Tower was pulsing its warning colors. Bright flashes alternated between red and yellow. That meant…

"They're evacuating the settlement," he said.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

When Alister burst through the doors of the meeting room, the place was already enveloped in a heavy cloud of hopelessness and fear. Half the Elders noticed him come in, and turned to face him with an accusing scowl blazing on their faces. The rest continued to shout back and forth in a state of panic. Thus Alister's arrival did nothing to improve the atmosphere.

As gracefully as he could, Alister took his seat and tried to tune in to the discussion that was filtering through his ears as a chaotic mess of noise. At first he was just frustrated and angry, with himself and for having to be here where he could surely do no good. Then he looked up with sudden interest when he realized the nature of the option that was being considered.

"We can't just leave!" thundered one of the Elders. "The entire galaxy is in danger because of Tachyon—because of _us!_"

"It's not _our_ fault the Cragmite turned on us," Hadrian argued. "Our first priority should be to protect our own people!"

A third speaker promptly offered, "Besides, even if Tachyon's new dictatorship _is_ our fault, there's nothing we can do about it! He's a madman, bent first and foremost on the obliteration of our entire race. If we stay, we will all be killed, and the galaxy will be no better for it."

"That doesn't change the fact that we are responsible for letting him live," the first one pointed out. "We are responsible for his rise to power."

"Don't be naïve, Thirsten. We may be responsible for letting Tachyon live, but only _one_ of us is responsible for his rise to power."

All eyes turned to General Azimuth, and Alister suddenly felt the true magnitude of the weight that was on his shoulders. The Lombax race was being systematically hunted across the galaxy. An army of Drophyd mercenaries armed with some of the best technology ever invented were breaking down what frail defenses remained in place. A vengeful mad genius hellbent on galactic conquest had overnight become the biggest threat to Polaris since the Great War. And he was left with the blame for it all.

Alister felt the blood draining from his face as the condemning stares of the soldiers and Elders all around him bored straight through his heart. At that moment he would have rather been dead than there in that room, waiting for the just and unbearable consequence of his grievous error.

"It's decided, then," said Councilwoman Ulima, rising to her feet. "All surviving Lombaxes will be evacuated by means of the Dimensionator... except for one." She turned to Alister with eyes that could pierce iron and unflinchingly stated, "Alister Azimuth, you are hereby charged with negligent military action that resulted in the slaughter of our race and the rise of a dictator. As punishment, you are banished from among our kind. You will not join us in leaving this dimension. You will remain here, in the Polaris galaxy, for as long as you live."

« « « « « ж » » » » »

The streets were clotted with crowds of panicked Lombaxes trying to get to the spaceport. They all knew there weren't enough ships in the settlement to evacuate everyone, and that whoever got left behind would have no choice but to wait for support from Fastoon and hope it arrived before Tachyon's army.

Kaden's protective instincts were going haywire as he led his entourage into the dangers of a city gripped by fear. He supported his wife with an arm braced firmly around her waist, leading her as gently as he could while trying not to move too slowly. If they didn't keep up a decent pace, they would be swallowed by the stampeding crowds. He looked around in a frenzy while they pressed forward, noting every sound and every movement that could possibly signal a threat. For all he knew, there was a manufacturing facility somewhere in the settlement full of enemy troops waiting to attack.

Nayeli made no complaint, but Kaden could see she was pushing her limit just trying to keep up. Of all the rotten times for such a crisis to happen!

"Hang in there, Nayeli," he whispered in the most encouraging tone he could muster. "It won't be much longer."

"I know," Nayeli rasped, and she feebly wiped her forehead. "Don't worry about me. I'll be—"

Nayeli suddenly gasped, stopped in her tracks and doubled over, clutching her stomach and groaning in pain.

"Nayeli!"

Kaden, Dezmond, and Callista all stooped down with her, supporting her on all sides.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you all right?"

Kaden alone didn't ask the obligatory questions, too racked with concern to find the words. He just stared at her, heart beating out of control, waiting for her to say something. Her eyes screwed shut tight, sweat dripped from her forehead, and her breathing quickened until it resembled gasping. Finally she looked up at her husband, face awash with dread.

"Kaden," she muttered, "the baby's coming."

Kaden gasped. "What? But you're not due for another month!"

"Tell _him_ that."

Kaden could only stare at her for a moment, too shocked to respond.

"Excuse me," said an unfamiliar voice out of nowhere, and Kaden turned around to see a Lombax wearing the uniform of the Lombax Praetorian Guard. "I'm Lieutenant Durst. You are the Keeper of the Dimensionator, are you not?"

"Yes, officer, but—"

"I'll have to ask you to come with me," the soldier stated. He unceremoniously grabbed Kaden's arm and started to walk away.

"Wait, _what?_" Kaden asked, slipping out of the Lieutenant's grip. "Why?"

"The Council of Elders has ordered the Dimensionator prepped for use," the Guard explained. "You're needed on Fastoon."

"Look, I'm sorry," Kaden said firmly, "but I can't come right now. My wife just went into labor; I need to take care of her."

Lieutenant Durst sighed, his face compassionate but also hard and decided. "I'm sorry as well, but my orders were to bring you to Fastoon as quickly as possible."

Kaden stepped back from the soldier, fingers curling into fists. His eyes darkened and his brow furrowed into a defensive frown. In a stubborn, almost threatening voice he said, "I'm not leaving my wife!"

His fierceness evaporated when he felt Nayeli's warm hand slip into his.

"Kaden... It's okay," she said. "You need to—go and do your job. I'll be fine."

"But—!"

"It'll be all right, son," Dezmond assured. "I'll be with her."

"And so will I," said Callista. "We'll take care of her."

The two of them helped Nayeli to her feet, and she leaned against them as she made one more frail attempt at giving her husband a reassuring smile.

"We have to go," Durst said, grasping Kaden's arm once more.

This time Kaden didn't pull away, but neither did he move. He was rooted to his spot like a mannequin, his eyes fixed on Nayeli. Her sunken face and ragged breath proved how weak she was. Weak, exhausted, and preparing to give birth five weeks early in the middle of a planetary evacuation. How could he leave her in this condition?

The lieutenant urged again, "Come on, we have to go now!"

Kaden resisted the tug on his arm almost unconsciously, clinging to his wife's clammy hand. Her fingers hung limp in his grip while she willed strength into her eyes. She held his gaze and whispered in her soft, beautiful voice, "Go on ahead, Kaden... I'll meet you there."

Kaden swallowed hard and muttered, "Promise?"

"I promise."

Kaden bit his lip, closed his eyes, and let go of Nayeli's hand. He let himself be led away—heart pounding, throat tightening. It took all his willpower not to look back.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Alister's Banishment—_ It seems fast and completely unprofessional, I know, but what can I say? The canon says he was banished, and I didn't figure they'd have time to do a formal trial what with the world coming to an end and all.**

**-_ Theme Song: "Runaway" by Linkin Park—_ Anri Sonohara mentioned this song for the last chapter, but I think it works for this one as well. I don't think every line fits perfectly, but the core idea of the song _nails_ what Alister is feeling right now.**


	18. Flesh of My Flesh

**Foreword:**

**So, with the ridiculously long wait between the last couple chapters, I had begun to wonder if I would still have an audience by the time I got my rear in gear... Imagine my surprise when I checked my email the day after posting chapter 17 and discovered that I'd gotten 8 new reviews _overnight_. O.O I can't tell you all how happy that made me. :3 Like, seriously, thank you so much, guys! Wow. I wanna cry now. T-T And speaking of crying, here goes chapter 18. With Valentine's Day upon us, I present to you the most tragically romantic thing I've ever written. Yes, I'm evil and this is the thanks you get for giving me an ego boost. :P Hopefully you won't all hate me by the end. DX**

**Oh! And I can't believe I forgot to mention this last time, but I want to give a big shout-out to Dark Glass Marionette, who has started translating _The General and Kaden_ into Spanish. Muchas gracias, mi amiga! XP**

* * *

"_What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."_

— _Job 3:25-26_

« ... »

The aerial view of Fastoon upon entering the planet's stratosphere was a sore sight for even sorer eyes. From his safe haven in the passenger seat of Lieutenant Durst's two-passenger ship Kaden bleakly watched the carnage of Tachyon's onslaught as it passed below, rolling by like the ocean with no ending in sight no matter how much of it they left behind.

"We weren't prepared for this kind of internal invasion," Durst stated. "At this rate there will be nothing left of the capitol in less than a week."

"What's the point of telling me that?" Kaden asked. He didn't turn to look at his escort; just kept staring down at the ground below, trying not to let the true extent of his feelings leak out.

"I just want you to understand why it's so critical you be here," the lieutenant explained.

Kaden spared a brief glance at his companion, just long enough to say, "I understand," then turned away again.

He wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words. His throat had never felt so tight before—like he was being strangled. Buildings toppled and explosions sounded left and right, but it all faded together into a jumbled mess of noise by the time it reached Kaden's ears. It was all he could do to tune it out entirely.

In all his life, even after growing up in a galaxy recovering from war and where the threat of disaster was never silent, Kaden had never imagined such a horrifying turn of events could actually take place. It would have seemed to him too nightmarish to be possible. And yet, here he was in the thick of it, trying to keep calm in the laughing face of cruel fate.

After a while Lieutenant Durst announced that they'd reached the capitol, and Kaden stirred from his statue-like trance just enough to turn his head toward the approaching spectacle. It was a small relief—but a relief nonetheless—to see that the assaulting forces had not yet made it this far. The city was in a state of panic, but as yet no one but frightened Lombaxes flooded the streets. Where some semblance of order had been established there were soldiers directing droves of civilians toward the center of town. Kaden followed the crowd's flow with his eyes to the greatest work of defensive architecture that Lombax engineering had ever produced: the Court of Azimuth.

"It's a mass exodus," Durst stated. "Every Lombax in the galaxy is to convene in the Court until the Dimensionator can be used to send us all to another dimension."

Kaden said nothing. His job description was clear from context, and the details didn't need to be stated. They both knew that this was the most drastic measure that could have possibly been conceived for dealing with the problem. That Lombaxes from all over the galaxy were arriving at the Court of Azimuth, some with enemy forces in hot pursuit, and that their window of opportunity for using the Dimensionator was narrowing. At some point they would have to cut their losses and go, lest they lose everyone. Thousands would be left behind.

"Just get me inside," Kaden muttered. "I'll take it from there."

« ... »

The interior of the Court was mayhem. Kaden expected as much. For the first time he was actually grateful for his military escort, for without it he feared he would be swallowed up in the crowd. Every way he looked he was being flanked, passed, or bumped by panicked scientists trying to prepare the citadel to be their race's last line of defense against the apocalyptic force closing in on them. He overheard countless snippets of rushed conversation about vitally important topics: the integrity of the defense grid, the spatial capacity of the court's inner chambers. the amount of time before enemy forces could overtake the city. Matters of life or death—of survival or extinction—with his successful programming of the Dimensionator at the critical epicenter. No pressure.

At last Lieutenant Durst ushered Kaden inside a high-security laboratory wing, where his team was waiting for him. The Dimensionator was set up in the center of the room, and the five other authorized technicians were already at work on the start-up procedures.

Wait a minute… _five_?

"Where are Alvar and Casey?" Kaden asked.

The somber eyes and downcast faces of the rest of the team answered his question. Swallowing hard, he forced aside his emotions, as well as all the horrible imaginings brought on by them, and held his head high.

"Come on," he said in a strong, commanding tone, "We have a job to do."

« ... »

Hours later, after his work was done and the Dimensionator was ready for use, a restless calm settled over Kaden. It was out of his hands now, and there was nothing left for him to do. He hated that. He hated having nothing to do. He'd always hated it, if only for the fact that he couldn't take the boredom, but now was even worse. Boredom would've been bliss compared to this unbearable, guilt-wracked worry.

It had been hours since he'd been forced to leave Nayeli on Lumos. Hours that felt like days, and yet he remembered every fleeting detail of those cursed moments when it happened. He remembered her trembling hand, her forced smile, her gentle, raspy voice. The atmosphere had been stiff with the sounds of terror and the smell of desperation.

What had become of her? How had she managed with the complicated position she was in? Had she made it aboard one of the evac ships? He didn't imagine she could board while in labor, but with her father and best friend attending her, he supposed it wasn't impossible... He wondered if the baby had been born yet. The time-frame seemed about right. Hopefully there hadn't been any complications, but the more he thought about it, the frailer a hope it seemed. Labor had been a month premature—induced by shock, no doubt—and for Nayeli to be giving birth under such horrific circumstances couldn't be good for the baby. It might be too much to hope that the child would even survive.

Kaden sighed deeply as he let himself collapse against a wall and slump into a huddled bundle on the floor. He wrapped his arms around his legs and pressed his face against his knees while his ears sagged behind his head. He couldn't take this. It was just too cruel. If he didn't get some word on Nayeli soon, he would lose his mind with worry.

"Kaden," called a soft voice, and Kaden looked up to see a member of his engineering staff standing just outside the door to the communications room. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but there's a transmission for you from Planet Lumos."

Kaden leapt to his feet and flew past the surprised engineer into the room. His eyes flashed across the stations and he quickly isolated the one in question, slamming down on the answer button and staring hopefully at the screen before him. There was nothing but noise and snow for a moment, and Kaden bit his lip so hard it almost bled, but finally the image took form and Nayeli appeared. He forgot all his troubles when he saw her, sitting there smiling like nothing was wrong.

"Hello, Kaden," she greeted.

"Nayeli!" Kaden exclaimed. "Are you okay? What's going on down there?"

"Relax, I'm fine," she assured with a nervous laugh. "We didn't make it onto the first group of evacuation ships... but don't worry! Dad's been working on Aphelion, and he says she should be space-worthy anytime now. If we can't make it onto the next evacuation group, she'll be our backup. We'll be joining you on Fastoon soon."

Kaden breathed a deep sigh and smiled at his wife in sweet relief. "I'm so glad to hear that."

Nayeli smiled back and bit her lip a little, blushing as she hesitantly murmured, "So... Want to meet your son?"

Kaden felt weightless for a few seconds, and after that could only say, "Yeah!"

Nayeli knelt down and disappeared from view for a brief moment, then popped back up, lifting an infant Lombax onto her lap. Kaden's face broke out into an open-mouthed smile when he saw him. The tiny creature was covered from head to toe with a downy coat of unspoiled amber fur. His round face was all eyes, the same chrysolite green as his father's, and he looked into the view screen with curious fascination.

"Wow..." Kaden murmured in awe. "It's like looking into a mirror!"

"I know, right?" Nayeli agreed while the baby clawed his way up her front. "Apparently you have all the dominant genes. Ow!"

She grabbed the little rascal's arm and tried to coax him into releasing her left ear while her husband laughed unsympathetically. "Apparantly so!" he said. "Raising _that_ kid'll probably make you regret marrying me."

"No way!" Nayeli retorted. "He's perfect; just like his father."

Kaden grinned endearingly. "So, what did you decide to call him?"

Nayeli smiled, tightening her arms around her child. "His name is—"

An explosion cut her off, and the picture on the screen jolted badly. Kaden gasped, and he watched in terror as the screen went snowy again, then cleared once more to show Nayeli from behind, clutching her baby close and staring mortified at something Kaden couldn't see.

"Nayeli, what's happening?" he asked desperately. "Nayeli!"

"We're under attack!" she shouted. Whatever else she was trying to tell him was too marred by interference to make out. Kaden could only hear the urgency in her tone and watch helplessly as what looked like explosions and flying rubble blasted in the background until the connection dissolved into noise and haze.

Kaden's chair fell over backwards when he shot to his feet, and he leapt over it as he made a beeline for the door. He saw Hadrian just outside, speaking with the engineer from before, and he called out to him without stopping, "I'm going to Lumos."

"What?" Hadrian had to run in order to keep up with Kaden as he bolted from the room. "Kaden, you can't do that! If you leave the Court now, then—"

"I was going to stay anyway," Kaden said. "Someone has to make sure the Dimensionator doesn't fall into Tachyon's hands. It makes sense for it to be me."

Hadrian looked shocked, and for once in his life kept quiet and waited to hear the rest of what Kaden had to say.

"It's actually better this way," Kaden went on. "Now I don't have to abandon my family in order to do it."

"But how will you get to the Dimensionator if you leave now?"

"The defenses around the Court are strong enough to hold off Tachyon's forces for at least a few days. I'll come back when my family is safe and enter through one of the hidden underground entrances. Even if Tachyon has the Court surrounded, I'll be able to get inside without his knowing, and take the Dimensionator. Whatever happens, I'll make sure he can never find it."

Hadrian stared at Kaden with a level of awe and respect that he never had before. It took him a moment to find his breath to speak.

"Kaden, you're the pride of our race. Certainly the last Lombax who deserves such a fate... Godspeed."

Kaden nodded to his old rival, and managed to smile as he felt the long-standing barrier of bitterness between them dissolve in hopeful admiration. Ironic how the end of life as he knew it was what had instigated peace between him and his enemies.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden's heart sank when he saw the Lumos settlement. It had been ravaged without mercy, and everything was completely destroyed. The landscape was like the impact zone of a nuclear explosion. Few structures remained standing, none were undamaged, and he couldn't find a single street that wasn't all but buried in debris. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. After all, every major Lombax city that had been hit by Tachyon's forces had been dealt with in an equally ruthless manner... but the Lumos settlement was so small, so remote. While on Fastoon he had confirmed that none of Tachyon's munitions were being produced there, so he would've had to go pretty far out of his way to attack this settlement. And for what? Sure, he hated Lombaxes, but Kaden would've thought he had bigger fish to fry than this tiny little colony on the backwater planet of Lumos.

Plus—and Kaden almost wondered if he was imagining it—the level of destruction here somehow looked even more thorough than it had on Fastoon. Like they were purposely tearing down every building and every structure they came across. Like they were _looking_ for something.

Kaden put the thought out of his mind and turned his focus instead to his objective: finding his wife. He couldn't let the grim appearance of things deter his hope that she might be okay. She was a smart girl, and her father was an inventive genius. Surely they could have figured out a way to survive the attack... right?

He bit his lip and prayed silently against everything as he scanned the horizon for any signs of life. It was hard to see through the haze of smoke hanging in the air, and his ship's computer readings were inconclusive.

"Please," he muttered under his breath. "_Please_ let her be safe..."

Finally he reached Callista's house... or what _used_ to be the house. What was left could scarcely be described as a ruin. Kaden felt faint when he saw it, and his throat tightened in despair. Then he happened to notice that the yard, though littered with rubble, was otherwise empty. He gasped hopefully and rushed to land the ship near the spot where Aphelion had been. Jumping out of the cockpit like it was about to explode, he raced to the demolished portion of fence he remembered from his earlier landing. It was the only damage in the area that had been caused _before_ the attack. Sure enough, the drag marks of Aphelion's underbelly were still etched into the dirt there, but the ship was nowhere to be seen.

Kaden dared to breathe deeply in hopeful relief. Nayeli may have escaped after all.

He whipped out his wrist and activated the navigation unit on his communicator. Thankfully Feel's comm frequency was still programmed into it. He tapped a few buttons and, to his sheer delight, the navigator picked up her signal. But then the bad news came to light: the ship was still on Lumos, only a short distance away from his current location.

Wasting no time, he took off running in the direction the signal indicated.

"Nayeli! Aphelion! Anyone!" He called out all their names in turn repeatedly as he dashed through the deserted ruins of his childhood home, trudging through rubble and blasting away any debris that stood in his way.

At last he climbed over the remains of what used to be a house, and saw his ship sitting nearby in a nest of dust and crumbled concrete.

"Aphelion!" He raced over to her and immediately started to look her over. The cockpit was open and there was no one inside, so Kaden climbed in and took a look at her control board. She was shut down, but it looked like all the major damage to her systems had been repaired. He crossed his fingers and flipped the ignition switch.

Her engine hummed to life and her computer came online. Kaden smiled when he heard her voice begin to rattle off her pre-programmed status announcement.

"Aphelion," he cut her off, "where is Nayeli?"

"Oh! Kaden," the ship greeted. "That's right, I remember now... Dezmond finished my repairs just before the Drophyds attacked. Then everyone boarded me and we tried to escape the planet, but we were caught in a tractor beam by one of the drop ships, and I was forced to land."

"Then what happened?" Kaden asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Aphelion admitted, her voice remorseful. "The tractor beam knocked out my engines and shut down my computer."

Kaden swallowed hard, then got out of the ship and started frantically searching the area.

"Hello?" he called out, his voiced etched with desperation. "Is anyone out there?"

Suddenly a weak voice reached his ears from nearby. "Kaden?"

Kaden spun 90 degrees and ran toward the voice, which he recognized immediately.

"Nayeli!"

He found her lying at the base of a toppled building, buried from the waist down in rubble. He knelt beside her and took her gently in his arms, trying not to look too carefully at the tremendous mountain of debris that trapped her.

"K-Kaden," she muttered feebly. "They took him... They took our baby! You have to—go after them..."

"Of course I will," Kaden promised. "As soon as I take care of you."

Nayeli shook her head. "It's too late for me."

"No, it's not!"

"Kaden," Nayeli whispered beseechingly. "I've been bleeding for hours, and I—can't feel my legs... Even if you get me out, I won't make it..."

She paused for a few seconds to cough and take in a deep, labored breath. "Please... If you waste time on me, you'll lose us both..."

Kaden's face broke with sadness, and he unconsciously shook his head. "Nayeli," he murmured in disbelief. "You're not asking me to _leave_ you here...?"

Nayeli's lower lip quivered, and tears began to form in her eyes. She took a deep breath and spoke tenderly, without a trace of blame, uncertainty, or selfishness in her voice. "Kaden... Please don't feel like you've failed me. I was more valued and more loved in my eight years with you than most girls are in their whole lives... I have no regrets."

She reached feebly up to grasp his shoulders with what little strength she had left, and Kaden read her with a pang of deep sorrow. With one hand supporting her back and the other her head, he gently, tenderly drew her close.

How long had it been since they'd kissed? It seemed like a lifetime ago. Through her cold lips he felt the overwhelming warmth of more affection than he could possibly bear. The weight of it pressed down on his aching heart until it broke.

At last he reluctantly pulled back, still cradling Nayeli in his arms as their eyes met, mere inches apart. She looked up at him with round, sparkling eyes, smiling as she had on their wedding day, and softly whispered, "I love you."

Kaden had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could answer her. "I love you too, Nayeli... S-_So_ much..."

"I know..." Nayeli whispered. She pressed her hand against his chest and somberly said, "Now go."

Kaden's breaths were fast and sharp as he looked down at his darling wife, anguished disbelief leaking from his eyes in the form of tears. They soaked his cheeks and trickled down onto Nayeli's face where they mingled with her own. As carefully as he could, he laid her down against the bloodstained soil.

After reluctantly pulling his arms loose, Kaden stroked her cheek with his right hand. He drowned in the feeling flowing from his fingertips as they trailed across her soft fur, and she closed her eyes and shuddered at his touch. As his palm came to rest on her neck he felt her heartbeat, still pulsing faithfully, but slower each time.

Kaden's face twisted in agony. Everything inside him screamed in protest against what he was about to do.

No...

No!

NO!

_I can't! I won't! Not like this... I can't leave you like this! You're my... You're my—! E__verything... Everything I've done was for you. Everything I am is because of you!__ What in the world am I going to do without you?!_

Kaden shut his eyes tight, gasping back tears and whimpering in heartbroken grief. He had to sever his soul from his body in order to summon up the willpower to pull away from Nayeli, and in the instant her touch left him, his heart froze over.

Driven on by blind, senseless instinct, he activated his hoverboots and jetted away, fleeing like his life depended on it. An artificial wind swept the tears from his face as he blasted forward. His eyes remained open out of pure necessity, but soon he could no longer make out the road ahead for the visions of the past that invaded his mind. All he could see was Nayeli—healthy and happy, smiling and laughing, gazing at him fondly with dazzling sapphire eyes and an infectious smile.

So many days returned to him... so many moments that he cherished in the deepest, dearest part of his heart. She was always there by his side—always waiting, always watching. Always finding little ways to show how much she cared for him. He was her hero, and she reminded him of it every day, with a kiss, a hug, a squeeze of his hand in passing, or a humble act of service. She would sit patiently and hand him tools all day while he tinkered in his workshop, and every hour or so she would bring him a cup of ice water.

So much joy... so much kindness... so much love... How could such a tender, fragile heart be filled with so much love? It shouldn't be possible... just like it shouldn't be possible for someone who loved so much to die at the hands of someone who's cold black heart was filled with only hate.

"Open up!" he shouted when his ship came into view, and Aphelion raised up her domed roof to make way for him as he rocketed into the cockpit in a blind rage. "Scan for the residual ion trail of the fleet that attacked the settlement and set a pursuit course, maximum speed!"

"But Kaden, what about—?"

"Shut up and _GO_, Aphelion!"

"Ye-Yes..."

Kaden deafened himself to the sound of Aphelion closing her hatch, powering her engines, and making her ascent into the upper atmosphere of Lumos. He pounded the back of his head hard against his seat, and stared upward with dead eyes that were gradually darkening. Breath hissed through his gritted teeth, choked sobs heaving from his throat.

_I love you..._

His face fell, and he clamped his hands on either side of his skull as though he meant to tear the flesh right off of it. All the emotions churning inside him boiled over, and he screamed. A long, loud, hopeless cry, embodying all the pain one tender soul could possibly bear.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Nayeli's Death—_ Wow... I can't believe it's actually happened. Believe it or not, the rough draft of the scene where Kaden leaves Nayeli on Lumos was one of the first parts of the story I typed up. It seemed so far away back then, and now it's actually happened. Excuse me while I go bury myself in blankets and bawl my eyes out. T-T**

**-_Theme Song:_ _"Paperthin Hymn" by Anberlin _— This is song is about the pain of losing someone you love very much, and the struggle afterward to carry on without them. Thus I associate it very strongly with Kaden in this chapter (though I also think it kinda fits Alister at the end of everything). My favorite part is the line in the chorus that says, "I just want one more chance... to put my arms in fragile hands." That makes me feel like I'm gonna cry every time I hear it. :(**

**-_Theme Song:_ _"Dear Angel" by April Sixth _— Another Kaden song about Nayeli. Pretty self explanatory.**

**-_Theme Song:_ _"My Last Breath" by Evanescence _— I know this song has been applied to countless characters before, but I'm blown away by how perfectly and _literally_ it applies to Nayeli in this chapter.**


	19. Thicker Than Water

**Foreword:**

**God is so good! He gives me everything I need! XD So, like, if any of you ever have trouble with your hands due to keyboarding, check out the Carpal Tunnel Institute (dot org). They sell this DVD stretching program that did _wonders_ for my wrists. :D Oh, and I'd like to offer belated thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 18. For some reason I didn't get any email notifications these past several weeks, so I didn't know about most of the reviews for that chapter until just recently. _ **

**Anyways, without further ado (like there hasn't been enough waiting already, right? XP), I present to you: Chapter 19. The end is so close, I can taste it!**

* * *

_"If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,"_

— _Psalm 55:12-13_

« ... »

Outside the meeting room, Alister sat slumped against the wall—his legs drawn up against his chest, his arms wrapped around his knees, his face hidden shamefully behind the cover of his coiled limbs. He had lost all semblance of dignity, so why try to feign otherwise? What did it matter now how he looked, or what a passerby might think of him sitting there sulking like a child?

He sensed a person stopping in their tracks, right where they could glare down at him. Alister didn't care, and he didn't budge. Let them gawk. They couldn't possibly make him feel any worse.

"I am not entirely without sympathy for your position, General Azimuth."

The familiar voice that spoke was gentle but hard. Councilwoman Ulima herself. "The truth is, you are as much a victim of fate as any of us. You were put in a position no one should ever be in and forced to make a decision no one should ever have to make. It's hardly fair that all the blame has been passed to you, but it's also a sad fact of life that _someone_ has to take the fall when a mistake is made..."

Alister didn't move, didn't speak. He was beyond comfort.

Ulima heaved an uncharacteristic sigh and said, "General, I am—moved by your predicament... Against my better judgement, I am going to risk telling you something that no one else is authorized to know."

This tickled Alister's curiosity just enough to get him to raise his head and look up at the councilwoman. His dark eyes were hollow and spent with tears.

"You are not the only Lombax being purposely left behind," Ulima stated. "The Keeper of the Dimensionator has decided to stay as well."

Alister's deadened aura instantly shattered, and his eyes sparkled with confused hope.

"Wh-What? Kaden has? Why?"

"To keep the Dimensionator from falling into enemy hands... and to rescue his family. They were overtaken by Tachyon's forces before they could be evacuated to Fastoon."

A gasp of surprise caught in Alister's throat. After the horrific events of this cursed day, he didn't think anything else could surprise him. Once again, he was dead wrong.

"He left several hours ago," Ulima said. "but if you hurry... you may still be able to find him."

Alister stood to his feet, and staggered at the the tingling sensation of blood rushing to his legs.

"Thank you," he muttered, and took off running down the dimly lit corridor.

« ... »

Alister burst into his quarters and tore frantically into his bottom drawer. He pulled out his old communicator, which hadn't seen the light of day since the falling-out last year, and prayed to God that Kaden still had his.

He held down the call button and shouted desperately, "Kaden? Kaden, are you there? Kaden, come in. Kaden!

After a long, torturous silence, he heard his friend's voice through the speaker. "What do you want?"

Alister swallowed in apprehension. Kaden sounded upset. _Really_ upset. So upset that all the emotion had drained out of his voice. Alister knew from long-past experience _that_ defense mechanism.

"I... heard about what you're doing," he muttered gingerly. "I want to help."

"Haven't you done enough?" This time there was some distinct anger in Kaden's voice.

Alister hesitated for a long moment before he could muster the courage to speak again. "Kaden, I—can't tell you how sorry I am."

"But you're going to anyway, right?"

"Kaden, _please!_ Please, just let me help you... I'll do whatever you ask; just let me come to you. You're all I have left."

That was it. The contents of his broken heart laid bare at Kaden's feet. He choked on his own tears as he waited for a reply. It was the longest few seconds of his life.

At last Kaden sighed and said, "Alister, you're as good as a brother to me. Always have been, always will be. For that reason, and that reason alone, I am trying _really_ hard not to say what I want to right now—"

"Kaden, if I could take back what happened... if there was any way at all for me to fix this—"

"There's some things you can't fix, Alister," Kaden snapped. "Any engineer could tell you that!"

"Look, I know that I—"

"No, you _don't_ know! Nayeli is _dead_ because of you! She bled out on Lumos, trapped under a pile of debris from an attack that _you_ made possible! I had to _leave_ her there, Alister! Do you have any idea what that was like?!"

Alister felt like his heart had stopped. His whole body went numb and he dropped the communicator. It struck the ground with a slam that seemed to reverberate through the whole room, ringing in his ears as loud as Kaden's condemning words.

For a second or two he just stood there, eyes gaping, breath quickening. Suddenly he fell to his knees beside the small machine, all the strength leaving his body in a single instant. As his throat began to close up, he could barely muster up a weak whisper. "K-Kaden..."

For a moment no sound issued from the communicator, and Alister feared he'd lost the signal, but the sound of Kaden's voice a few seconds later proved even worse than the silence.

"I _died_ there, Alister," he stated. "And as far as I'm concerned, you died there, too."

Kaden cut the signal, leaving Alister in the blackest pit of agony imaginable.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden felt a rush of guilt when he ended the transmission. It was easy to ignore, pale as it was in comparison to his grief—and his anger. He tried as hard as he could not think about his lost wife, or his former friend. Right now he had to think of his son. He had to devote all his energy—physical, mental, and emotional—to this rescue. He couldn't afford to be angry with himself or even Alister. All his rage was reserved for Tachyon.

"Approaching destination," Aphelion announced.

Kaden looked out at the monochrome planet as it came into view. Torren IV. So this was where the Cragmite had run to. Kaden set his jaw and began pressing buttons and pulling levers.

"Initialize descent sequence."

"Yes, sir."

They set down softly in a clearing near the only Lombax signature on the planet, and Kaden climbed out while activating his hoverboots. He turned to his ship once more and said, "Remember the plan."

"Of course," Aphelion replied. "Just as we discussed."

Kaden nodded, then jetted off.

Even without the aid of a nav unit, Tachyon wouldn't have been hard to find. He was standing out in the open, surrounded by a platoon of Drophyd infantry, waiting. When Kaden saw him he struggled not to bare his teeth. The heartless monster was seated high in the safety of his war machine's cockpit with no roof, no glass, nothing to shield him from the outside—but no way to get to him, either.

Kaden swallowed, his ears flopping back. His son's life reading was coming from that horde, but the child was nowhere in sight. It was the most obvious trap imaginable, but nothing could be done for it.

Taking a deep breath, Kaden walked out from behind the bushes that hid him and stepped into the open, head held high. Tachyon spotted him immediately and smiled down at him with a spiteful, heinous grin that could peel paint.

"Well, if it isn't the Keeper of the Dimensionator," he greeted. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Where is my son, Tachyon?!" Kaden shouted, balling his fists.

"Oh, you mean this?"

Tachyon reached low and pulled up a Lombax pup from near his feet, clutching him by his neck. The baby screamed and wriggled frantically, gasping for breath. Kaden cringed at the sight, biting his lip to keep from betraying the true extent of his horror."

"I found it in the wreckage on planet Lumos," Tachyon mocked on. "Thought I'd rescue the poor little thing since its mother couldn't look after it anymore..." Here the Cragmite abandoned his tone of false benign and started showing his true colors. "Her desperation was delightful! I wish you could've seen her clawing at the ground, screaming out her child's name. Isn't it ironic, Lombax? That I know this runt's name, while you, his own father, don't?"

Kaden's lip quivered in anger and sorrow. The hatred burning inside him was getting harder and harder to suppress, but it was the only thing keeping him from crying. He took a sharp breath through the nose and said, "What do you want?"

"What do you think?"

Kaden's eyes widened as an obvious realization dawned on him. So _that_ was what this was all about. The reason for the attack on Lumos, the murder of his wife and capture of his son, even the attempt to capture _him_ months ago. Kaden let out a long, shuddering breath, closing his eyes.

"I can't give you the Dimensionator."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Tachyon replied, unfazed. He slowly tightened his grip around the baby's throat while he calmly added. "Now I get to torture you for information, _and_ kill your offspring with my bare hands."

Kaden let his eyes flash open, showing without restraint the true depth of his rage.

"I'll give you one warning, Tachyon," he growled at the top of his lungs. "Give me back my son, or I'll take him by force!"

Tachyon chuckled with mild amusement, leaning a few inches forward. "And just how, pray tell, would you do _that?_"

The roar of a ship's engine bellowed out of nowhere, and Aphelion flew around a rock formation just behind Tachyon. The Cragmite turned in his seat, and his beady eyes dilated even smaller as Kaden's ship sprayed plasma bolts all across his assembled forces. The Drophyd soldiers were caught off guard and weren't ready to defend. Half of them flopped to the ground seconds after the tanks on their armor were shattered by Aphelion's weapons.

The ship soared directly over Tachyon, clearing the top of his mech by no more than a few inches. The Cragmite nearly tumbled out of his cockpit, and the baby Lombax fell from his grip. Kaden kicked his hoverboots into high gear and blasted forward, eyes set on the infant plummeting toward the ground. He screeched between the legs of Tachyon's battle throne, snatching his son right out of the air. Despite the urge to turn around and try to finish Tachyon right there, he kept going. He was in no position to fight, and he had to get his son to safety.

Kaden glanced over his shoulder to see Tachyon's envoy as he left them in his dust, trying to regroup while Aphelion came about for another strike. He returned his eyes to the road ahead and banked quickly around a sharp corner. His childhood days of hoverbooting across Lumos's wild frontier flashed across his memory, and he felt those old instincts coming alive with a vengeance to carry him to his goal.

Tachyon's troopers were everywhere, and skillful maneuvering was all that kept him and his son alive on his mad dash across the rocky plains of Torren IV. The baby's screams were drowned out by the roar of explosions on their tail from the Drophyds' constant fire. He zipped into a narrow canyon for a few seconds of peace, only to be met with cruel force when he emerged on the other side. Without stopping he swerved to the left and then swung into an immediate right, losing his trigger-happy pursuers through a Lombax-sized crack in the rock wall.

"Aphelion!" he screamed into his communicator, desperately holding onto the baby with his free hand. "I'm clear!"

"Copy that," the ship's voice replied steadily. "I'm on my way."

Kaden emerged from his crevice on a wide-open plain, and stopped cold. Twenty more Dropyhd sentries were positioned nearby. When they saw the fugitive Lombax they immediately brandished their weapons and began to advance. Kaden had no choice but to charge into the fray.

He dodged their fire until he was able to get out of the open, but he could still hear them close on his tail. Breathing hard, he looked frantically about for some advantage this cursed desert terrain might possibly offer him.

And there, lo and behold, was a tetramite nest.

Kaden smiled in desperate relief. It was crazy, but it was his only chance. He zipped by the nest, purposely pulling in just close enough to clip it with his blaster as he passed. The screeching, skittering sound of the angry creatures swarming behind him struck both fear and hope into Kaden's heart. He made a wide curve and headed back in the direction from which he'd come. Soon he saw the Drophyds, and the shocked looks on their slimy orange faces when _they_ saw the wave of flesh-eating insects coming their way on the heels of their target.

Kaden breezed past them, and didn't look back until he'd found a creek and barreled straight into it. Knee-deep in the life-saving pool, he dared to look over his shoulder, and smiled at the sight of twenty Drophyds being swallowed up in a seething black cloud of deadly insects.

Aphelion's voice suddenly issued from his communicator, "Kaden, where are you? Tachyon's troopers are regrouping. Hundreds of them are headed this way!"

Kaden jetted off, urgently replying, "Sorry, Feel, I got held up. Looks like we'll have to adjust our escape strategy..."

Kaden explained his idea quickly, and he could tell by Aphelion's reluctant agreement that even his own ship thought he was crazy.

Less than a minute later the spot came into view: a steep cliff racing miles closer every minute. Kaden turned his head a half-circle, taking in his surroundings in a single sweep. Enforcers were approaching on land from a distance, while gunships streaked across the sky. If they didn't get out now, they were goners for sure.

Kaden took a deep breath, and fixed his eyes ahead. The jets on his hoverboots burned brighter than ever before, blasting him forward at unheard-of speed. At the point of no return he flung himself off the edge of the cliff, holding his son tightly in his arms as he let himself fly toward the distant ground. He held his breath, heart racing, and waited.

Suddenly, Aphelion zipped into the sunlight from the mouth of a huge cave. She dipped steeply as she blasted toward the falling Lombaxes, and swooped up in the instant she caught them in her cockpit. She almost grazed the cliffside as she twisted into her rapid ascent.

While the domed roof was still closing over his head, Kaden was already back in action. He practically threw the baby into the seat beside his and strapped him down tight, ignoring the poor child's fearful wailing and squirming.

He seized the control stick and dove into communication with his ship. They worked together to evade enemy forces during their perilous flight through the planet's upper atmosphere. Once they cleared orbit Kaden screamed for Aphelion to engage hyperdrive.

« ... »

After several minutes of evasive maneuvering at top speed, Aphelion slipped out of her warp field and quietly flew on at a slower pace. The threat of Tachyon's forces was behind them, and there was nothing but empty space as far as the eye could see.

Kaden loosened his grip on the control stick and slumped back in his seat, overcome by a storm of mixed emotions. He was relieved that his rescue had succeeded, and that he had managed to escape Tachyon in one piece... but now that the action and heat of the moment were behind him and the fire in his blood had died out, he was left once more in the vacuum of sorrow and loneliness. His head slowly tilted back, his eyes closed, and his breath came out in short, uneven gasps. He was safe for the moment, but now what? Where could he go? What would he do when he got there?

At long last Kaden was dragged from his vacuum by the cries of his son. Slowly and reluctantly he turned his head and opened his eyes to look at the tiny ball of young flesh whimpering in the seat beside him. He was afraid of what he would feel when he saw him—afraid that he would see a burden, or a hindrance—that he would look at the baby and see only the cause of Nayeli's death, a hapless thing who lacked even the sense to feel gratitude for the unfathomable sacrifice that his mother had made for his sake... But when his eyes came to rest on the child—when he found his gaze locked with that pair of deep green eyes that mirrored his exactly—his heart brimmed over with compassion, opening fully.

The baby was strapped into the seat in an uncomfortable position, screaming and flailing his tiny arms and legs in a futile attempt to get loose. He was so small, so helpless, and so scared... Yet he tried so hard. He fought with all his feeble might, even though he was just a newborn who couldn't even understand the desperation of his circumstances, much less do anything about it. He opened his eyes as he wailed at the top of his lungs, unable to do anything else, and looked at his father with a frightened, pleading expression.

Kaden's body moved almost involuntarily in response. Even as that familiar tickle behind his eyes announced a new batch of tears, he was already out of his seat and removing the strap that restrained the infant. He scooped up his son with strong, trembling hands, and hugged him to his chest. The baby kicked and writhed terribly, but Kaden held him tight. Try as he might, he couldn't muster up any gentle words or comforting tones to calm the child, and it was all he could do just to keep himself from squeezing too hard. Deaf to the sounds of the baby's cries, Kaden closed his eyes once more and focused only on his sense of touch as he stood there, holding his son in his arms. He was very small, even for an infant Lombax, and Kaden marveled at how easily he could encase him in a snug bundle. His head fit in the palm of his hand like it was formed to rest there. Kaden stiffened his muscles and bit his lip, standing silent and motionless while his son struggled.

Finally the baby settled down a bit, and his cries mellowed from a sharp scream to a dull whimper. He stopped resisting his father's embrace and instead reached up to gather a handful of the fur on his neck in a tiny fist. Kaden felt a sharp sting where the baby had found his grip, but he didn't make him let go. The way his child cleaved to him so desperately reminded him how much responsibility—and how much _love—_he had for his son. His depression left him in an instant as he was filled with a new sense of purpose. The life before him was hanging by a thread—a small candle flickering in a dark corner, easily found and even more easily extinguished. As long as his lungs drew breath, he had to do everything in his power to protect this precious little one, who now needed him more than anyone had ever needed him before.

Kaden came back to himself and realized that the baby had stopped crying—stopped moving, even—and was now resting peacefully in his arms. He let out a bizarre infantile noise, which had no discernible meaning, but it sounded as though he was trying to say something. Then he rubbed his face back and forth a few times against Kaden's chest, and yawned as he released his grip on his fur.

Kaden could only stare down in wonder as his son drifted off to sleep and his ears slowly relaxed into a resting position, brushing against Kaden's fingers. He could hear the child's soft breathing, and feel his body moving in rhythm with his inhales and exhales. Eyes filled with tears, Kaden found himself tenderly running several fingers over the baby, feeling every curve, every indent, every change in texture on the surface of his tiny body. His unspoiled fur was soft as down, and his little tail hung about his legs almost too short to be taken seriously. Kaden could easily measure the span of the infant's shoulders between a finger and a thumb, and he could cover his whole back with a single hand.

So small. So innocent. So vulnerable. And so, _so_ beautiful... Kaden felt fifteen again as a familiar brazen determination seized his heart, which was strong and courageous once more.

This was his son.

And he would do everything in his power to make sure that no one was _ever_ able to hurt him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ "Only I know your true name!" —_ That was one of my favorite lines in ToD, and I knew once I started working on this story that I would have to do my best to justify it. Thus, I dreamed up another gloating rant for Tachyon to make everyone's skin crawl. Hopefully it works, ya? ^^'**


	20. Last Chance

**Foreword:**

***staggers in, panting* Sweet banana cream pie with whipped topping, this chapter is SOOOO LAAAAAATE! DX So sorry, everyone. :( I've been busier in the past few months than I've ever been before in my entire life!**

**Anyways, I'm finally back, and if anyone is actually still reading, please accept my deepest apologies and sincerest thanks. 3**

***heaves loooooong sigh* So, I've been playing ACiT with my baby sister and brother again lately, and we managed to trigger a couple random lines from Alister that I'd never heard before. To my sheer horror, they _totally_ conflicted with my plot for this story! o_0 I mean _completely._ Like, from beginning to end. WHYYYYYYYY?! DX**

**Obviously it's waaaay too late for me to fix this, but I can certainly say that if I'd known about those little snippets back when I first started writing, I would've gone a completely different direction with the early development. This saddens me deeply. T-T But, since there's nothing I can do about it now, I'm just gonna have to ignore it and move on. My apologies to any among my readers who ever stumble upon the same snippets in the game I did and then think, "Wait a minute..." _ **

* * *

_"Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow."_

—_2 Corinthians 2:7_

« ... »

Kaden's communicator clanked loudly as the baby banged it against the floor, muttering a string of unintelligible gibberish. He looked like he was trying to get it open.

"Whoa there," Kaden exclaimed, turning aside from Aphelion's controls. "That thing's not a toy."

He had to wrestle the small machine from his son's prying grip, and, and of course the child burst into tears. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes Kaden looked around for a substitute. Unfortunately the only thing available was his blaster. He hesitated for a long moment before the baby's screams got to him and he grabbed the weapon, groaning in defeat.

After removing the power source and triple checking that the safety was on, he handed his gun to his son. The baby's eyes lit up at the sight of it, and he immediately set to sucking on the grip and playing with all the buttons.

In spite of the guilty feeling gnawing at his parental instincts, he couldn't help but smile. Then he looked down at the communicator in his hands, and his expression darkened.

What was he going to do with this thing?

Truth be told, he was surprised he even had it still, but when he was honest with himself, he knew exactly why. The reason didn't matter anymore, though. He couldn't risk keeping it any longer.

He set the machine on the ground at his feet and raised up his right leg. He sat there for a long moment, ready to stomp to pieces the last connection he had to another Lombax... and for some reason he just couldn't put his foot down.

His heart started pounding in his chest as he stared down at that cold, lifeless little device, and suddenly he felt like breaking it would be as heartless as kicking his infant son.

Kaden heaved a deep, frustrated sigh and set his foot down gently, leaning down to pick up the communicator. He held it in his hands, letting his bitterness melt away. He thought of the person suffering at the other end... and then he thought of his son, who had taught him how to love again when he was sure that all warm feelings were dead to him forever.

Kaden bit his lip and closed his eyes, swallowing butterflies as he lifted the communicator to his lips.

"Alister," he practiced awkwardly without turning the communicator on. "It's me again. I doubt you're happy to hear from me... you know, since I said you were dead to me and all..."

He stopped and rolled his eyes, then took a breath and started over. "Hey, Alister, it's Kaden. How're you doing?"

He grimaced at the stupidity of the question, his ears flopping back.

He glanced over at his son, who had stopped playing with the blaster and was staring at him with muted fascination.

"What? You think you could do better?"

The baby giggled, then lost his balance and fell over on his side.

Kaden sighed once more before flipping the power switch on his communicator. There was no turning back now.

"Al," he muttered into the receiver, "you there?"

Alister's voice responded in an instant. "Kaden? Kaden, is that you?!"

"Yeah, it's me," Kaden replied listlessly.

"Oh, thank God!" Alister exclaimed. He trailed off for a moment before he found the strength to continue. "Kaden... About—Nayeli, I... I'm _so_ sorry."

"Alister," Kaden cut in; he couldn't let _that_ topic start up. Not if he wanted his communicator to survive their conversation. "Listen. I know you're using the tracking system in our communicators to find me... I'm sorry, but I'm going to destroy mine."

He heard a faint gasp on the other line, and when Alister started talking again, his voice was quivering in panic.

"Kaden... you can't..."

"I have to," Kaden explained. "I can't take the risk if yours falls into the wrong hands."

"I promise I won't let that happen!"

"Alister, listen to me!" He sighed hard and plugged the communicator into a port on the ship's control board and then began typing as he went on. "I'm sending you an encrypted file. Be at these coordinates by this time tomorrow, and I'll let you join me."

Kaden could almost feel the tension leave the atmosphere as these words passed his lips, and the joy in Alister's tone was enough to cut through his melancholy and make him smile.

"Thank you, Kaden... Thank you so much! This means more to me than I could ever say."

"Hey, don't mush out on me now, soldier," Kaden retorted, the spirit of his youth returning in spite of everything. "Just get there! I'm not gonna sit around waiting for you, so don't be late."

"I'll be there," Alister said with rekindled hope. "I promise!"

"Great," Kaden muttered under his breath.

Suddenly the familiar sound of metal banging on metal killed the mood, punctuated by the loud babbling of an infant Lombax.

"Oh, no way..." Alister muttered in disbelief. "Is that—?"

"My son," Kaden inserted with a roll of his eyes. He pinned the blaster to the floor with his foot, to the vehement protest of the child.

A delighted laugh of Alister's managed to rise over the baby's noise. "Well I'll be... what's he look like?"

"You'll find out when you meet him," Kaden muttered coyly.

"So _that's_ how it's gonna be, huh? Do you think I don't have enough incentive already?"

"Oh, shut up and set your course, would you?" Kaden snapped playfully.

"Already done. I'll see you there."

"See you..." Kaden unconsciously released the blaster from under his foot, and the whining infant quieted down. There was a long silence as he tried to think of what—if anything—he should say next.

"R-Right, so... I guess we'd better say goodbye."

Alister's voice betrayed his reluctance to agree, but nonetheless he muttered, "Yeah... I guess—guess so... Goodbye, Kaden."

"Bye, Al."

Despite the promise of a not-so-distant reunion, Kaden couldn't shake the feeling of somber finality plaguing this farewell. Seconds away from ending the call he jumped to add, "Oh, and Alister?"

"Yes?" his friend asked eagerly.

Kaden had to breathe a few times before he could finish. "Whatever happens, Al... I want you to know that... I forgive you."

With a trembling hand he cut the signal, and let out a long, loud sigh.

He looked down at the baby, who was contentedly playing at his feet with the stripped blaster. Another deep breath passed through his lungs as he pulled the communicator out of the synch port and set it back on the floor at his feet. He lifted up his leg and turned to his son, who was now eying him with rapt attention.

"Is this what you were trying to do?" he asked, and the sound of buckling metal filled the cabin.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden marveled at the one place on Fastoon that remained untouched by Tachyon's onslaught. There was nothing but cavernous mountains and jutting crags as far as the eye could see. Miles and miles of rocky terrain had made this no-man's-land too troublesome and dangerous to develop, which meant that there were no Lombaxes here, and thus no reason for the Cragmite to spread his forces this far.

Turning his attention to the ship's sensors, Kaden pinpointed the spot he was looking for. A tiny cave hidden behind several forbidding outcroppings of solid limestone. He couldn't even see it from this high up, but Aphelion's readouts of the underground confirmed that they were in the right place.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the ship asked with concern.

"I have to, Feel," Kaden replied. "Or die trying."

"I hope you realize how real of a possibility that is."

Kaden thought to himself for a quiet minute, then sighed and said, "If I don't come back... you know what to do, right?"

"Yes," Aphelion said almost regretfully.

"Good."

Kaden looked down at his baby, who had somehow managed to fall asleep on the hard cockpit floor. He knew Alister would take care of him as though he were his own... but hoped with all his heart it wouldn't come to that.

He closed his eyes and focused on his breath, drawing in a deep stream of air. His brain would need all the oxygen it could get if he was to survive this undertaking. Alertness was absolutely critical.

"Okay," he announced, opening his brazen green eyes. "I'm ready."

A loud hiss filled the air as the seal of Aphelion's cockpit came undone and the domed roof lifted from overhead. Kaden stood up and stretched his legs for the first time in hours. He stepped up onto the side rail and took in the dismal view below. A gust of wind swept past and he had to steady himself to keep from being blown down. The breeze felt soft and cool against his skin, and he allowed himself to relish in a brief moment of calm before the storm.

He turned, his ears whipping around his head, and looked down into the cockpit. His son was sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling with his soft, rhythmic breathing.

Kaden smiled, then turned back to face the task ahead. Stretching out his arms, he let himself fall forward.

He had been doing halo jumps since he had his own ship as a daredevil teenager. Nothing compared to the feeling of the ground rushing at you while the air tried to pick you up. It was pure adrenaline, and even in these desperate circumstances he still enjoyed it. This might be the last time he could ever do it, he remembered sorrowfully. A tear was swept from his face by the momentum of his free-fall.

The mouth of the cave swallowed him up in an instant, and Kaden gathered his wits as he prepared to land. Coiling his feet underneath his body and activating his hoverboots, he listened for the echo of the jets that would signal he was almost on the ground. His ears perked at the nigh imperceptible noise, and he righted himself mid-air just in time to break his fall and slip into a hover.

He pulled a compact light from his utility belt and shone it around for a quick scan of the cavern. When he was confident that the coast was clear he sighed in relief and reluctantly began the easy, boring part of his quest—the three-mile walk through these endless caverns to the secret East entrance of the Court of Azimuth.

« ... »

By the time the giant raritanium door came into view, Kaden was practically longing to run into some Drophyd sentries.

"Finally," he muttered under his breath, rushing over to the keypad on the door's right. He typed in his security clearance and a disc-shaped tray popped out, the computer screen prompting him for a DNA sample. He rolled his eyes and unceremoniously spit on the tray. The computer withdrew the tray while the screen showed the progress of the sample analysis. After about a minute of foot-tapping the authorization cleared, and the doors slid open.

Now came the hard part.

Kaden took a moment to mentally prepare before venturing into the dark, empty halls of the Court. As he looked around at the high ceilings and long hallways, he felt a faint chill run down his spine. It was unnerving to see such a big place _this_ empty. Or even this dark. It was like Tachyon's very presence had choked all the light out.

Kaden walked up to a computer terminal and activated it.

"What's the status of the perimeter defenses?" he asked.

A choppy synthetic voice warbled in response.

"Qua—um shield energy lev—s at one percent. Outer def—ses structural in—grity at zero point three per—nt."

Kaden swallowed hard. That was _not_ what he wanted to hear. "How long before the perimeter is breached?"

"Approx—ately eleven min—s."

Kaden's ears flopped. It looked like he would have to change tactics.

The spitfire of hoverboot jets running at maximum output echoed loudly through the deserted hallways, leaving a charred trail behind them. Subtlety abandoned, Kaden valued only speed in his desperate flight to the Court's central chamber, where his final responsibility was waiting for him.

He blasted through the false wall leading in through the back of an expansive room whose ceiling towered so high above that it was completely hidden in shadow. The Dimensionator was sitting right in the center of the vast round floor, the faint hum of its energy converters testifying that it had just been used.

A loud clatter of metal against metal reverberated through the cavernous dome, and Kaden gasped as he looked past the Dimensionator at the main entry corridor. Foreign shadows danced across the dimly lit wall. They had made it in five minutes early.

Kaden dashed forward, grabbing the Dimensionator just before Tachyon's forces came into view, led by the Cragmite himself. Percival Tachyon took one glance into the chamber, and his face twisted in rage as he locked eyes with Kaden. The Lombax was already blazing back the way he'd come when Drophyd soldiers began pouring into the room.

"Kill him!" Tachyon's shrill voice shrieked fiercely in the growing distance. "KILL HIM!"

Tachyon's voice was quickly swallowed up in a deafening blast of gunfire. Bolts of energy lit up the corridor from just behind Kaden as he rocketed on. Soon the frightening noises of the advancing troops grew softer as he gained momentum, and he allowed himself a brief smirk of relief at the fact that those foot soldiers couldn't possibly keep up with him while he was in hoverboots. Now he just had to backtrack as fast as he possibly could and hope they didn't have any Enforcers at the ready.

When Kaden reached the gate to the secret entrance, he zoomed through without bothering to seal the door. The sound of the chase changed entirely once they were in the underground caverns. The shouts of angry Drophyds turned into eerie wails echoing all around him. Here in the dark clutches of the cave's winding tunnels he wouldn't be able to tell from which direction his enemies approached. It really brought back memories...

The distance that had taken him an hour to cross on foot was left in his dust after two minutes, and Aphelion was already powering up her engines and opening her hatch when she came into view.

_That's my girl!_

"Hurry, Kaden!" the ship shouted, "Tachyon's forces are closing in from all angles!"

Kaden catapulted himself into the cockpit, startling his son awake.

"Don't have to tell _me_ twice," he muttered, already busy at the controls. "If there was ever a time for you to show off your speed, Feel, it's now!"

"Yes, sir! Engaging hyperdrive."

The roar of engines and subsequent liftoff filled Kaden with a new charge of adrenaline.

"Hang in there, little guy," he shouted to his crying son, "This'll all be over soon."

He turned out to be right, for twenty minutes later Fastoon was a shrinking dot in Aphelion's stern window.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden's heart felt heavier with every minute that ticked slowly by. He had hoped he would arrive at the rendezvous point to find Alister already waiting for him. He had envisioned the moment many, many times and wondered with anticipation and fear exactly what it would be like.

But the longer he waited here... the more time slipped by with no sign of his friend's approach... the more Kaden felt like his hope was slipping away.

He pulled out his watch, opened it, and stared for a time at the photo inside. How he longed for the time when that picture was taken! A more innocent time, when the worst of his worries were hardly even matters of life, let alone death. The soft, rhythmic ticking drifted through his ears, carrying him back to that time, and the tide of memory washed him up on the rocky shore of the moment that had changed everything...

_A purple vase shattered against the wall into a thousand sharp fragments. Kaden's frustrated scream was swallowed up by the clatter of dishes on the floor after he'd turned the kitchen table over._

_ Nayeli came rushing into the room with a worried look on her face. "Kaden, what are you doing?" she exclaimed, running over to him._

_ A wrench on the floor found its way into Kaden's furious grip, and with it he mercilessly broke both of the kitchen windows. Glass shards rained down onto the floor while the rampaging Lombax was already ravaging his next victim._

_ "Stop, Kaden!" Nayeli screamed._

_ She grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him away from a freshly beaten hole in the wall, but Kaden yanked his arm from her grip as though on reflex and glared at her with blazing eyes._

_ Nayeli shied back with a frightened gasp, and Kaden's rage instantly subsided. The wrench fell from his hand and struck the glass-covered floor—the only sound in the whole house for the next few seconds. Kaden held his wife's worried gaze only a moment before he turned away in shame, biting his lip as tears began rolling down his cheeks._

_ "Kaden..." Nayeli murmured, stepping forward. She reached up to touch his face, gazing deeply into his stormy eyes. "What happened?_

_ Even after he'd calmed down, it took a while to explain everything. Nayeli had coaxed him into the living room without saying a word about how he'd just destroyed her beautiful kitchen, which made him feel even more guilty about it. They sat down together on the sofa, Nayeli took Kaden's hands in her own, and she waited patiently for him to be ready to talk. There was silence for several minutes, and then the whole story came pouring out like a breached dam._

_ "How could he be so stupid?!" Kaden shouted, having finished telling all about his spat with Alister. "How can he think that a _Cragmite_ can be trusted with the fate of __our whole galaxy?!"_

_ "I'm sure he has a good reason," Nayeli said._

_ "Here's the reason: he's stupid!"_

_ "Kaden, I know you're mad... but you shouldn't talk about your best friend that way."_

_ "He's not my best friend anymore."_

_ Nayeli gasped under her breath. "Kaden, you don't mean that."_

_ Kaden seethed in silence a moment, refusing to meet Nayeli's eyes. "How could he? He should know better..."_

_ Nayeli heaved a knowing sigh and asked, "Are you talking about what he _did_, or what he _said_?"_

_ Kaden's eyes began to water once more. "Both."_

_ Silence for a moment... And then, "He's always been like this. He doesn't know how to stop and weigh things out in his head. He thinks it's impossible to do any good if you're not constantly moving."_

_ "In a way he's right," Nayeli interjected, and Kaden gave her a questioning look. But she just smiled and calmly went on. "You _do_ always have to be moving... but sometimes you move the most when you're standing still. Alister needs to realize that..." Nayeli reached her hand forward, turned Kaden's face toward hers and lovingly added, "But then again, so do you."_

Kaden remembered her gentle words with tears in his eyes. He felt the choking in his throat too late to stop it, and seconds later he was sobbing all over Aphelion's control board. He never had understood what Nayeli meant by that cryptic statement... until now. Here he was waiting for someone who just days ago he'd never wanted to see again. He had been sitting absolutely still—one of his least favorite things to do—for the past seven hours... and yet never before had he felt so moved.

Not even a few moments' peace was allowed him before another crying voice interrupted his own. He turned, wiping his eyes, and looked down into the next seat at his bawling baby boy. Why did that little fuzzball have to be such a light sleeper?

Kaden sighed in resignation and reached over to pick the child up. He held him to his chest and patted him on the back, still fighting off his own tears even as he tried to console his son.

"Come on, kid... don't cry! We're two of the last Lombaxes in the galaxy; we can't afford to cry. We have to be strong."

His efforts were fruitless as the baby continued to scream hysterically. It appeared he could sense the lack of conviction in his father's tone.

"All right, then," Kaden muttered, wiping his eyes and squeezing his child a little tighter. "Guess I'll have to be strong for both of us."

With the baby still fussing against his chest, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his only remaining keepsake of Alister. The watch still ticked faithfully, still functioned perfectly. If only life and relationships could be so simple, and so reliable.

He ran his fingers over the picture inside, meticulously studying every detail. You would never know from looking at it how much history was bound up in that tiny little space. In that so faithfully captured moment he and his best friend were both together and smiling after three years of being apart. Kaden remembered how happy those days had been, and remembering made him wonder how he had ever let it slip away. Even in spite of everything that had happened and all the horrors that had torn his whole world apart, one comfort yet remained: there was still something in his life worth fighting for. Still someone worth dying for. Still someone worth waiting for.

But he couldn't wait forever. Already ships belonging to Tachyon were beginning to show up on his long-range sensors. If he didn't leave soon, there was no guarantee he'd be able to evade them long enough to accomplish his mission. He couldn't risk his only child for the sake of his only friend. Not even if that friend was Alister.

The baby hadn't stirred in a while, so Kaden supposed it was safe to put him down. With utmost care he laid him down on the seat beside his, praying under his breath that the little minx wouldn't wake up. He didn't. He stirred a bit and rolled over on his side, but after that remained peacefully asleep.

Kaden smiled for a brief moment before the gloom returned, and he looked once more at his watch. Alister's eyes in that cherished photo stared right at him, almost pleadingly. He bit his lip, choking back tears as he made his decision.

The watch snapped closed and disappeared into his pocket.

"Aphelion," he muttered sadly, "We'd better go."

"Understood," Aphelion replied.

Kaden leaned back in his seat, listening to the sound of the engines powering up and the course being set.

_Why, Alister? I told you when to be here. I waited so long... Why didn't you come?_

Kaden would never know the answer to his question, and lest his heart break yet again, he refused to let himself wonder.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Ratchet's First Firearm—_ Yeah I know, Kaden gets the 'irresponsible father of the year' award... but the subtle foreshadowing of the games was just too hilarious for me to resist! XD**

**-_ Kaden's Flashback—_ This was a scene I came up with way back when I was plotting out Kaden and Alister's fight, but for some sad reason, I was never able to figure out a way to squeeze it in. :( but then as I was brainstorming for this chapter, suddenly it dawned on me... I can do it as a flashback! XD I found it a perfect way to have my cake and eat it too. Besides, I think it may even carry a little more weight this way than it would have if it happened in real time.**

**-_ So why the heck didn't Alister show up?—_ That's for me to figure out, and for you to hope you'll never know. :P**

**-_ Theme Song: "The Symphony of Blase" by Anberlin—_ Mmmm... I can't really decide whether this song works or not. Parts fit like a glove, and other parts sound almost like the opposite of what I think should be said. But for some reason I can't help but associate it with Kaden as though it was written for him. Some lines are obviously about his feelings for Nayeli, and others seem more like his feelings toward Alister. Most of them I can't even figure out _what_ they're about, But I still feel like they fit somehow—almost like Kaden has grown to the point where he's deciding things about himself independent of my will. Ultimately, I think of it as describing his resolution to let go of everything at the end of this chapter... and the peace he has about it in spite of how heartbroken he is.**


	21. Apogee

**Foreword: **

**Blackjack! XP Yupperz, it's chapter 21! And I managed to finish it in less than a quarter of a year. *feels proud***

**So, recently I broke down and bought the Ratchet & Clank comic series after years of telling myself that it wouldn't be any good... and I was blown away. O.O I was seriously impressed! I mean, I got it late at night and told myself, "Well, it's too late to read the whole thing, so I guess I'll just read the first chapter to see what it's like... and next thing I knew, there I was camped out in the bathroom at midnight trying not to laugh too loud 'cause didn't want to wake my family and have to admit to them that I was staying up late secretly marathoning Ratchet & Clank. XP Anyway, suffice it to say, I loved the comic, despite a few historical details it revealed that once again clashed with my canon. DX It also made me a much stronger Ratchet-Talwyn shipper than I already was, which is ironic considering I read it just after writing this _particular_ chapter. ^-^**

**Oh, and I've also re-posted all the previous chapters to include some minor changes. Mostly just typo-level stuff. Probably the only thing anyone would notice is a nod at ACiT that I slipped into the end of chapter 12 (my little sister's idea).**

* * *

_"Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."_

— _Psalms 8:2_

« ... »

Pretzel-legged on the floor, Kaden took a deep, measured breath. He held up two tiny, almost identical metal doodads, balancing them each between two fingers of the same hand. "All right," he muttered, "one of these is a part of the exhaust valve that regulates internal pressure, and one is a clamp that holds the outer shell together."

With his free hand he grabbed a small machine that was on the floor in front of him and pointed to a tiny opening. "Now, which one goes here?"

His son, sitting on the floor in front of him, made a happy noise and reached out for the one on the left. Kaden pulled it away and harmlessly bonked him on the head with it, and he frowned at his father in childish confusion.

"Wrong," Kaden stated, waving the part in front of his face. "If you put _this_ in there, you could blow up this whole ship and we'd all go bye-bye."

The baby reached out once more to grab at the part, and Kaden let him have it, knowing it was no threat all by itself. He sighed in frustration and jokingly muttered, "Honestly, don't you think you should be getting this by now? You're pushing three months, after all."

His son ignored him completely and began sucking on the metal bauble. Kaden smiled and affectionately mussed the fur on top of his head.

"I still don't see why you're making a terra thruster for your gyro-cycle," Aphelion commented.

"_I_ still don't see why you had my gyro-cycle in your glove compartment," Kaden retorted.

"You put it there last year," the ship argued. "I already told you that!"

Kaden chuckled softly, despite his wilted ears. "I'm adding the terra thruster," he explained, "because illegal modifications make things more valuable."

"Why should that matter anymore?"

Kaden looked morosely down at the playing baby, and bit his lip. Hearing the familiar mild affection and steadfast loyalty in Aphelion's mechanical voice, he felt a pang of guilt deep within his tired heart. He had a plan to insure the future of his son, and his elaborate scheme to secure the Dimensionator had been in the works these past eleven weeks... Unfortunately, the same could not be said for his 'little girl.' As much as he thought of Aphelion as his daughter, she simply could not take the place of his real child. Even the accursed Dimensionator outranked his dear ship in terms of importance. And alas, though he racked his frazzled mind until tears of frustration pooled in his bloodshot eyes, these wretched weeks had revealed no possible way to protect his precious creation. In some sense of the word, at the very least, she would inevitably be lost.

"Hey, Aphelion?" he muttered again, ignoring her question. "Did I ever tell you why I started calling you 'Feel?'"

"I always assumed it was because that word is phonetically part of my name."

"That's part of the reason, but there was a double meaning to it that I didn't notice for a while."

"Oh?" the ship sounded genuinely interested.

"I designed you to be the first ship ever to _think_," he explained, "But it wasn't until the day before my wedding that I realized you had achieved something else I'd never even considered: you became the first ship ever to _feel_."

He stopped a moment, waiting to hear what Aphelion would have to say, but to his surprise she remained decidedly silent.

"On that day you didn't really know what to say to me," he went on, "but you said something anyway. You actually _cared_ about what I was feeling enough to want to comfort me... and that showed me _you_ were feeling, too."

Aphelion remained silent for a short moment before she spoke. "Why do I get the feeling you're telling me this for a sad reason?"

Kaden couldn't help but chuckle at her perceptiveness. "I just want you to know what your name means... That's all."

For what seemed like a long time, the only sound was Kaden's clueless baby playing on the floor.

At long last Aphelion announced, "Approaching destination."

Kaden leaned forward and gazed out into space. Sure enough, there it was. The final stop on his long quest to secure the Dimensionator: Apogee Space Station.

With a worried sigh he opened a channel and hailed the station. "This is the Keeper of the Dimensionator. Requesting permission to dock."

"Kaden?" Max exclaimed as though the Lombax were a ghost.

"Long time no see, Max," Kaden greeted, sounding terribly somber despite himself.

« ... »

The inner doors of the docking bay slid open, and to Kaden's surprise he was met by two armed robots standing guard.

"And just who in blue blazes are you?" one of them grumbled distrustfully, waving a blaster in Kaden's face.

The other one, a bit taller than his partner, cupped his hand over one side of his mouth and whispered (much too loudly for it to do any good), "I don't like the looks of this one, Zeph. He smells like trouble."

"W-W-Well, which is it?" the short one snapped back at his friend, seeming to forget all about Kaden. "Does he look like trouble or does he smell like trouble?"

"Oh, you know what I mean, wise guy!"

"And come to think of it, why are you using a smelling analogy, ya' rusty old fool! You know durn well you can't smell!"

"Enough, you two! I _invited_ him."

Kaden and the robots' attention was called down the hall, where the familiar figure of Max Apogee was rushing toward them.

The husky Markazian heaved a vexed sigh when he stopped, then rolled his eyes and proceeded with the introductions. "This is Kaden, a_ very important_ friend. Kaden, these are my warbots, Cronk and Zephyr."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Zephyr greeted.

"Likewise," muttered Cronk.

Kaden suppressed a laugh, then cleared his throat and said, "Pleasure's all mine."

"Why don't you jokers go to the security wing and monitor for incoming vessels, since _his_ slipped past you so easily," Max suggested.

"Mr. Apogee, that seemed rather uncalled-for," said Zephyr.

Cronk brashly added, "In my day young folks had a little more respect for their elders!"

"In _your_ day young folks were still rubbing sticks together to start fires," Max retorted. "Just get out of here, would you?"

The two warbots gave each other a funny look, then grudgingly took their leave.

Max heaved an annoyed sigh, then turned and looked over at his guest in wide-eyed wonder, especially when he noticed the baby Kaden was holding.

Kaden became serious and said with downcast eyes, "I'm sorry for endangering you like this..."

"N-Not at all," Max muttered, nervous and awkward as always. After a pause, Max gingerly asked, "So... how are you holding up?"

Kaden shrugged. "Could be worse, I guess. I could be dead..."

Max didn't know how to respond to that, and there was an awkward pause before he ushered Kaden into his magnificent home.

As they made their way down corridors and across several spacious rooms Kaden couldn't help but be taken in by the unusual beauty of the place. In addition to the elevators, windows, and computer panels characteristic of a space station, there were also homey touches sparsely decorating the place, like throw rugs, framed family pictures, and flowers. Kaden took particular notice of the flowers. They seemed to be everywhere, and no two were alike. He wondered how the Apogees managed to obtain such a wild assortment of fresh fauna out here in the middle of space.

He got his answer a few minutes later when they reached the inner sanctum. It was a gigantic terrarium filled with all manner of plant life—the Apogees' own private bio-sphere.

"You can put the baby over here."

Max indicated a soft rug bordering one of the walls. Kaden gratefully set his son down, then flattened his palms against the glass window and gazed at the miniature jungle inside with his mouth hanging open. "I never knew you had something like _this_ in your space station!"

"Oh, the garden?" Max mumbled like it was no big deal. "That was my wife's pet project. She was raised on Quantos. Said the only way she'd leave nature to live with me in outer space was if she could bring nature with her."

Max smiled a bit at this recollection, then trailed off and turned away, but not before Kaden caught a glimpse of the sad look on his face.

Kaden's heart throbbed for his friend, for he instantly understood the emotion he was hiding.

After a few moments' silence Max sniffled loudly and looked at Kaden once more. "She... was on a Lombax transport vessel during the first attack. Everyone on board was..."

He trailed off again, and again Kaden remained silent until Max found the composure to go on. "My daughter doesn't know yet... and I don't know how I'm gonna tell her..."

"Max..." Kaden spoke at last, "for what it's worth, I know how you feel."

Max suddenly looked surprised. "What do you mean? Didn't your wife get evacuated along with—?"

Biting his lip, Kaden lowered his gaze and shook his head.

"Oh, Kaden..." Max mumbled in disbelief.

"We can't afford to grieve right now, Max," Kaden said, composing himself as best he could. "We have to be strong for our kids' sakes."

A rude pattering of small feet announced someone's approach, and Kaden looked over his shoulder to see a small Markazian girl standing a short ways down the corridor.

"Speak of the Devil..." Max muttered under his breath.

"Who's _that_, Daddy?" the child demanded, pointing a suspicious finger at Kaden.

"He's a friend of mine, Talwyn," Max answered his daughter.

Kaden smiled and waved at the spirited little girl. "Hello, Talwyn."

"Hi," the child said, shoving a rebellious lock of brown hair out of her face and under a red headband. Satisfied with her father's explanation, she lost interest in Kaden and wandered over to the corner, where his little bundle of joy was wrapping himself up in the rug.

Kaden turned to Max and whispered, as though they could be overheard, "You understand, this meeting can never have happened."

"Of course," Max replied. "I'll be sure to wipe the whole day from my warbots' memory banks—if they don't forget on their own, that is—and Talwyn has no concept of time yet, so even if she remembers you were here, she wouldn't know if it was before or after the tragedy."

Silence ensued, and this time it was little Talwyn who broke it by exclaiming, "Daddy, this baby has big ears!"

"Yes, dear, that's because he's a Lombax..." Max answered her.

"Max," Kaden said suddenly, "I have a favor to ask... It's very—unfair—to you and your daughter... Trust me, I wouldn't be asking if I could think of any other option."

Max looked worried for a moment, but nonetheless said, "I'll help however I can."

His daughter cut in once more, "And he has a tail like mine, only different."

"Because he's a Lombax, sweetheart." Max sighed in exasperation. "You were saying?"

Kaden continued, "I want you to—"

"Aww! He's fluffy!" Talwyn interrupted once more.

"Talwyn! For pity's sake, he's a _Lombax!_" Max yelled.

Kaden smiled and made his way over to the two youngsters. Little Talwyn was playing with Junior's ears while the annoyed infant made protesting noises and wrenched his head around in an effort to shake her. Kaden knelt close beside them, calling Talwyn's attention to himself.

"Talwyn, I bet the baby would love to see the rest of your beautiful space station. Would you mind showing him around?"

"Okay," the girl agreed.

"You trust her with him?" Max murmured, concerned.

"He'll be fine. He survived having _Tachyon_ as his babysitter; I think he can handle a few minutes with your daughter."

"I suppose..."

Max didn't sound convinced. He kept a cautious eye on his daughter, and not a second later he snapped at her, "Young lady, don't even _think_ about dragging him by his tail!"

"All _right_..." Talwyn moaned. She let go of the child's tail and gathered him up around the waist. She was barely big enough to lift him off the floor, and his legs practically dragged along as she carried him away, saying, "Come on, baby. I'm gonna show you my new jetpack."

Once the kids were gone Kaden returned to Max and took a deep breath. "I want you to take the Dimensionator."

Max blinked in leu of a gasp. No reaction. As though he hadn't heard. Finally he muttered, "Are you serious?"

"I have a plan," Kaden explained. "I made sure every angle was covered..." He pulled loose the bag hanging around his shoulder and reached inside to take out a pyramid-shaped gizmo covered in symbols. "This is a 'Lombax Artifact.' Something perfectly normal for an explorer and collector such yourself to be in possession of, yes?"

From the look Max gave him, Kaden couldn't tell if he was intrigued or just confused. "Go on," he said.

"If anyone finds out you and I had contact, this is your cover story. I made it a couple years ago as an extra layer of protection for the Dimensionator. It will only open for a Lombax, but even if it falls into the wrong hands and they somehow open it, the 'treasure map' inside is just a wild goose chase that dead-ends on planet Sargasso."

"I see... So if this is ever taken from me by opportunists seeking the Dimensionator, that's my cue to move the device while the enemy is otherwise occupied."

"Exactly."

"But wait..." Max looked worried for a moment of deep consideration. "Won't that mean—?"

Kaden didn't respond, only drooped his ears and gave his friend an apologetic look.

"Tell me honestly, Kaden," Max entreated. "Will I lose my daughter to this machine?"

It took a few seconds for Kaden to answer. "If you're forced to flee with the Dimensionator, you'll have to either risk her safety by bringing her with you... or leave her in the care of your warbots."

Max gasped under his breath, staring at the tiny device in Kaden's hands like it was cursed.

Kaden heaved an understanding sigh and morosely said, "I know what I'm asking you to sacrifice—"

"Oh, _do_ you?" Max snapped, and Kaden was surprised at his sharpness. "Do you _really?_ How could you possibly—?"

"Because I'm giving up my son, too!" Kaden blurted out, his face blazing up in frustrated anger.

Max gasped, shocked silent. Kaden's expression was hard for only a second before it broke with sadness. Eyes trained on the floor, he again paused for a long moment before he could go on, his face wilting with heavy emotion.

"Tachyon won't rest until he kills every Lombax in this galaxy, and he wants me in particular. As long as my son is with me, he's in danger... So his only chance for survival is for me to send him to a _different_ galaxy."

Max took a few seconds to process what Kaden had said. "But... why can't you use the Dimensionator to transport both of you to safety?"

"It's too dangerous. Using it again so soon after such a huge strain on its reflux coils could do anything from break it to—open an unstable portal into a random dimension. It won't be safe to use again for at least two years... I won't be able to hide from Tachyon that long."

Max stared at him in reverential awe, while Kaden wished he felt like he deserved it.

"I've thought about destroying it..." the Lombax explained further. "All things considered, that would probably be the smartest thing to do... But it's not my place. I was charged with protecting it. Besides, it's possible that other Lombaxes have somehow survived Tachyon's scourge. If so, I can't take away the only chance they may ever have of rejoining the rest of our race..."

He looked up and locked eyes with his friend, and entreated pleadingly, "But Max... if you agree to take responsibility for it, that choice is yours. At your discretion, you'll be free to destroy it if you see fit."

Max turned away, slipping a hand over his mouth. Kaden desperately fought the guilty feeling rising up in him. He couldn't afford to second guess himself at this point. He had made his peace and all the wretched cards were laid out on the table. It was up to Max now.

Finally the Markazian turned back to face him wearing an expression of bold determination that Kaden hadn't thought him capable of, and murmured in a shaky voice, "You have my word, it'll be safe. And I won't destroy it unless and until there's no other option."

Kaden almost gasped in surprise, and instead smiled with profound gratitude. He bowed forward slightly—shocking even himself—and said from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you."

« ... »

Kaden and Max were somberly making their way down the empty corridors of the space station to collect Kaden's son, when little Talwyn rushed out of a room and met them, jumping up and down in juvenile excitement.

"Daddy, Daddy! I taught him a trick!"

Max gave his daughter an exasperated look. "Talwyn, he's not your pet."

"Just come see," the child said, refusing to be deterred as she grabbed her father by the hand and pulled him away. "Come on, come on!"

Kaden chuckled at the sight. A big, tall, muscular man like Max being dragged off by a three-year-old girl. He breathed in, and for the moment chose to forget his troubles and be as one of these innocent little ones who knew nothing of grief or fear.

He followed his hosts into the room just in time to see Talwyn run over to the baby and grab him around the stomach. She groaned with effort as she pulled him upright so that his feet touched the ground, and he stiffened his stubby legs.

"Watch this," Talwyn said with pride. She let go of the baby and gave him a nudge on the back. He fell forward on his face and started to cry.

"Talwyn," Max huffed, but as he stepped forward to reprimand his daughter Kaden's hand flew up in front of him, blocking his way.

"Wait," Kaden commanded without taking his eyes off the kids. "Leave her be for a moment..."

Max shot a confused look at Kaden, then nervously turned his attention back to the children.

Talwyn picked the fussing baby up again with a tough-love approach, showing no signs of remorse.

"Don't cry! You can do it. Come on."

She righted him again, but he refused to straighten his legs this time, and for a minute or so it was a battle of wills between two fiercely stubborn opponents.

Max looked over at Kaden with a dubious expression, but Kaden continued to watch the exchange with rapt attention.

At last Talwyn resigned to a more gentle method of persuasion and stroked the baby's ears back a few times, softly muttering. "Please try... You're making me look bad."

The baby stilled and his cries sniffled to a stop. Then Talwyn smiled and lifted him to his feet once more. When she let go he wobbled a bit, but remained standing.

"Go on," Talwyn urged, and the tiny Lombax looked down at his feet and took a slow, measured step.

A gasp caught in Kaden's throat, and he brought a hand to his mouth as tears began flooding his eyes. In an instant he closed half the distance between himself and his child, and he kneeled on the floor, reaching out his arms to him.

"Come on, son" he encouraged. "Come to me."

_Show me..._ _Show me that you can make it on your own... that you have what it takes to survive!_

One unsteady step after another, the baby gradually made his way towards his father. A few times he almost fell over, and Kaden seized with worry, his whole body tightening.

"Just a few more steps..." _You can do it!, _

With an arm's length to go the baby lost his balance and tumbled forward—right into his father's waiting embrace. Kaden scooped up the child and wrapped him up so tight that he wriggled in protest.

First Kaden breathed, then he laughed. He pulled away to look over his son, who was standing on his own, and wrapped his hands around his chubby face.

"Way to go, kid. I knew you had it in you."

Kaden looked at Talwyn, who was beaming with accomplishment, and she tilted her head at him when she saw his face.

"You're crying too?" she muttered. "Grown-ups aren't supposed to cry."

Kaden laughed, then wiped his eyes. "You're right."

He scooped up his son and stood to his feet. "Thank you, Talwyn... And I'm sorry... I owe you and your dad more than I could ever repay."

The small girl looked up at him with a confused, innocent face. Clearly she had no idea what he meant.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Kaden's Gyrocycle— _Yes, it's the one in Tools of Destruction. I doubted the theory that it could be... that is, until we paid closer attention to the part where you get it and noticed the smuggler says that the Lombax who sold it to him looked like Ratchet. o_0 At that point, it became a must. ^-^ I just wish I'd planned it out better from early on. Then I might've been able to include a scene where Kaden actually _uses_ it. T-T**

**-_ Ratchet Meets Talwyn—_ I think this scene speaks for itself. X) For those who doubt the believability of such a development, keep in mind that Talwyn is just a few years old, so it's not surprising that she would have no memory of this meeting as an adult. And yes, I am implying that Talwyn is several years older than Ratchet, but I really don't think this is all that unbelievable, either.**

**-_ Kaden's Plan—_ Convoluted, I know, but I had to figure out _some_ way for Max to end up with the Dimensionator. I think the canon leans more toward the idea that Max found the device in the Lombax training facility long after the fact and then moved it, but I like my version better. :P Besides, I think it sheds a bit more light on the reason behind Max's disappearance.**

**-_ The Apogee Space Station—_ I know that I described it differently than it looks in the game, but I imagine that the 'homeyness' of it would sort of fade away over time now that Mrs. Apogee isn't around anymore...**

**-_ Chapter Title—_ The word 'apogee' has two meanings: the astronomical meaning, which I'll spare you here, and the general meaning, which is 'highest point' or 'climax.' I thought as a double-meaning, it was appropriate, since this chapter sort of marks the culmination of the plot and in a way signals the climax.**


	22. Goodbye

**Foreword:**

**This chapter might feel a bit fragmented, but that's because it was a last-ditch effort to squeeze in a few important developments that I almost forgot about. If anything, I'm proud of the fact that I made it this far, and that I _will_ be able to finish.**

* * *

_Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many._

— _Proverbs 4:10_

« ... »

With arms crossed and one foot braced up against the hard surface behind him, Kaden thumped his tail on his ship's outer hull and stared at the swampy horizon of Cobalia. In the distance gel plants steadily pumped green smog into the atmosphere, adding to its already murky and dismal appearance. Tachyon would probably seize control of the Gelatonium industry soon, Kaden realized with a sigh of frustration, and then this planet too would feel the sting of his scourge. For now, however, it was one of the few remaining places where a Lombax could stay a while, still beyond the would-be dictator's field of vision. Even so, his patience was wearing thin. This was taking too long.

"Getting bored, are we?" Aphelion teased. "One would think you'd be used to waiting by now."

Kaden gave a wry smile and glanced behind him at the ship against which he was leaning. "Just 'cause you're used to something doesn't mean it can't bother you."

"Shall I go fetch him?" she offered. Even with your terrathruster modification, I doubt that gyro-cycle could outrun _me_."

"Sarcastic _and_ cocky?" he muttered with a raised eyebrow. "Are you becoming a teenager _already_, Feel?"

"I'm sorry?" Aphelion asked, sounding genuinely confused, and Kaden smiled in satisfaction. _That_ was the bubble-headed ship he knew and loved.

"Give him another minute," he instructed. "I don't wanna risk losing him as a potential buyer if I'm not absolutely certain he's trying to bail with the merchandise.

Just then his ears perked at the far-off sound of shrieking turbines. He turned his head just enough to see his gyro-cycle blasting toward him, a glittering sphere of pulsing energy.

Kaden sighed in relief and took a step forward as the machine pulled up, then retracted into its tiny portable form and fell into the hand of its rider, a wiry reptilian creature wearing a cheap cowboy getup.

"Not bad," the seedy character muttered in a passive tone. "I'd say she's worth about... fifteen hundred."

Kaden snorted, letting his mouth twist into a snide half-grin. Typical smuggler. Of course he would want to play that way.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen, not a moron," he sniggered.

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that first part, friend," the smuggler retorted. "Under ol' Percival's rule, you're breakin' the law just by standing there breathing."

Kaden caught himself just short of losing his cool and drew a sharp breath before muttering, "All right, then. Since we're both outlaws, I'll play by my own rules."

He pulled his blaster on his unsuspecting buyer who couldn't completely conceal his fearful surprise.

"You can pay what that machine is worth, which we both know is at _least_ three thousand bolts, or you can give me back my gyro-cycle and I'll practice my aim on that tacky hat of yours just for wasting my time."

"Whoa, easy there, friend," the smuggler said, retaining his composure surprisingly well. "I mean no disrespect. How's 'bout we call it two-five and part ways as unlikely friends?"

Kaden unfurrowed his brow and let a faint chuckle escape his throat. He holstered his blaster and casually responded, "Make that 'you never saw me,' and we've got a deal."

The smuggler tipped his hat and put his hands on his hips, then muttered with a snort, "Far's I'm concerned, I picked this little baby off some poor Lombax's dead body."

Kaden tightened his grip on his holstered weapon and forced a nod of agreement. This guy was something else. Still had the nerve to take a cheap shot like that even after being threatened at gunpoint. If only his sharp little joke weren't so painfully close to being true.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

A cheerful jingling bell cut through the dreary silence, announcing the arrival of a customer as he charged through the doors of the tiny convenience store. The man at the counter looked up from his magazine to see a flustered Lombax dashing to and fro as he scanned the half-empty shelves. He was holding a miniature version of himself, and the poor kid hardly seemed to mind being jerked around like he was on a thrill ride—why, he practically looked like he was enjoying it.

"Looking for something, sir?" the cashier asked.

The Lombax looked over at the man with a worried, breathless look on his face. He was obviously in a hurry, but that was no surprise.

"Uh..." he muttered, staggering to the front counter while his baby giggled with excitement. "I need milk."

The cashier raised an eyebrow, looked down at the squirming child and then back up at his father. "Oh, right. Almost forgot you Lombaxes are mammals."

"Do you have any?" his customer asked impatiently.

"Sorry, man. There aren't any mammalian species in this region. Closest thing we've got is Zanifarian Death Weasels... I don't suppose the kid could drink bone marrow, could he?"

The Lombax made a weird face, and his ears drooped out of sight. "Do you have anything that even slightly _resembles_ milk?"

"Well, there's this." He waddled over to a mini-fridge at the far end of the counter and returned with a white container, which he opened to show his customer its contents.

The Lombax took a look, then looked up at the store owner with a raised eyebrow. "This is whipped cream."

"The Death Weasels love it."

With a sigh and a flip of his wallet, the poor flustered Lombax bought the strangest makeshift baby food imaginable and flew out of the store ten bolts poorer.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

In these last few moments, when it was too late to change a thing, Kaden found himself ironically poring over every detail of his plan to see if he'd missed anything, if there was something he hadn't considered—some possible other way. _Any_ other way. Nothing came to him, and he wasn't sure if that was a relief or a terrible torment.

Oh, how he _loathed_ the very idea of what he was about to do. It sickened him. How could any father who claimed to love his child possibly do such a thing? How could it be justified, even in circumstances as dire as this?

_Why not just kill him myself? At least that way I could make sure he doesn't suffer._

The half-baked sarcasm of this thought made him even more disgusted with himself, and he grit his teeth so hard it hurt.

But however vile and desperate this move was, he would do it, because it was the only thing he _could_ do. To give his son the best chance of survival possible, he would do this awful thing. For love he would commit a sin deserving of the fate that awaited him.

His child stirred in his arms and opened his big green eyes. Kaden smiled down at him and quietly said, "Morning, Tiger. Did you sleep well?"

The baby yawned in reply, and Kaden gave a genuine but somber laugh. "Listen," he whispered softly. "I know you're too young to understand what I'm about to say...but I'll say it anyway. You—were born at a _very_ bad time, and there's no doubt you're in for a rough childhood... But you are my son, _and_ Nayeli's. So I believe with all my heart that you can overcome everything life throws at you, and you'll come through it all kind instead of bitter... and you won't be alone forever."

The baby mumbled something in happy-sounding gibberish as an announcement came over the intercom, "Final transport to the Solana Galaxy, departing in ten minutes."

Ten minutes. He swallowed.

A careful sweep of the dreary, secluded spaceport revealed no sign of the person he was waiting for. Just frightened refugees shuffling timidly along. They looked away as if in fear when they saw him, and hastened their departure like they were avoiding the plague. Kaden couldn't blame them. As of a few months ago, every breathing Lombax in this galaxy had a target on their forehead with an assumed blast radius of about half a mile.

_ Where _is_ he? _he wondered worriedly._ He should be here by now._

"Excuse me," a friendly voice greeted from behind, and Kaden spun around to see a plump bluish alien wearing a tool belt and a white shirt. Where had he come from? No one had been there a second ago...  
"Hello there," the stranger greeted again. "Might I be the guy you're looking for?"

"Are you The Plumber?" Kaden asked.

"Sure am," the alien affirmed, sliding his thumbs behind his suspenders.

"No offense," Kaden muttered, looking the guy over, "But you might've picked a less obvious code name."

"What code name?" the Plumber asked.

Kaden paused, giving him a funny look. "Uh... Never mind."

"So, is this the kid you wanted me to take?"

Kaden swallowed hard. "Yeah, this is him."

He took a deep breath and reluctantly handed his only child over to a complete stranger. His heart pounded with guilt and his eyes filled with tears when he saw the confusion in his son's eyes as he was passed into the hands that now held his very future.

"Cute little feller, ain't he?" the Plumber observed with a smile. "What's his name?"

"Uh... His name?"

Kaden had almost forgotten. His son still had no name. Remembering Tachyon's words about Nayeli and the piercing sting of their truth, he hadn't the heart to give his son a name. Not when he knew that it wouldn't be the name his darling wife had chosen.

"Um..." he muttered sadly, "maybe _you_ should give him a name."

The Plumber looked away from the baby to regard his father with a surprised, confused expression. "You want _me_ to name your kid?"

"No, it's just... It's better if he doesn't have a Lombax name."

The Plumber raised an eyebrow, but questioned no further. "Alrighty, then."

He heaved the child up higher with his left arm and with his right thoughtfully tapped his chin with the tool he was holding. The three-month-old caught a glimpse of the shiny metal object and his eyes lit up with insatiable interest. He shot forth his little hands and seized his prize right out of the stranger's grip.

"Now, now," the Plumber muttered as though the baby understood him perfectly, "be careful with that. It's not a toy, you know."

The baby responded by whacking the poor unsuspecting fellow on the head.

Kaden couldn't completely stifle his laughter as the Plumber tried to gently wrestle the weapon away from the determined grip of his little clone.

When at last the battle was won and he had his tool back in hand, the Plumber heaved an exasperated sigh while the baby squealed in delight. Then as he was looking at the small object in his hand, inspiration suddenly filled his kind eyes, and he pointed the tool at the baby, saying, "Ratchet. Your name is Ratchet. Like it?"

The tiny Lombax mumbled obliviously while his father screwed up his face in disapproval.

"Ratchet?" he mouthed the name back to himself. Couldn't it at least have been an actual _name_?

"Suits him, dont'cha think?" the Plumber asked rhetorically as he tickled the giggling infant.

"Y-Yeah..." Kaden muttered, struggling not to roll his eyes. "Oh! I almost forgot."

He stepped over to his ship and reached into the cockpit, returning a moment later with a big brown sack which he handed to the Plumber. "This is your payment, and some food for the baby. I wish it was more, but..."

The plumber heaved the child up on his shoulder so he could look inside the bag, and his eyes popped open in surprise.

"Oh, heck, I don't need this much just to babysit for a little while."

Kaden gave him a confused look. "You mean... you don't—?"

The Plumber reached into the sack, grabbed a handful of bolts and shoved them into one of his pockets, then pulled out the white container of baby food and shoved the bag back into Kaden's hands. "You keep that, Son. You need it more than I do."

Kaden stared at him in sheer bewilderment for a moment, and after that could only smile. "Th-Thank you," me mumbled incoherently.

The Plumber didn't seem to hear him as he was opening up the lid to the white container in his hands to inspect the contents. He raised a dubious eyebrow and looked up at Kaden like he was out of his mind.

"Mister, I don't mean to criticize your parenting style, but—this here's whipped cream."

Kaden heaved a knowing sigh and averted his eyes to the floor. "I know," he muttered shamefully.

"Well, no worries. Long's it keeps the little rascal happy, it'll do for a while."

He screwed the lid back on, and before either of them could say anything else, another announcement blared on the PA, "Final transport to the Solana Galaxy, departing in five minutes."

Five minutes. That meant this was it. It was time to say goodbye.

"Gee whiz, where'd the time go?" asked the Plumber. He shouldered his squirmy load, then turned and headed for the huge transport vessel. Kaden told himself he wouldn't cry, and he wouldn't follow.

"Guess we'd better get goin', eh, Ratchet?" the Plumber cheerfully muttered to the infant dangling over his shoulder.

The baby sneezed on his nanny's back, then stared up after his father. At first he just looked confused. Then, as the distance between them gradually widened, his expression grew fearful. Not ten steps away he burst into hysterics, reaching out in pitiful desperation, and Kaden's heart broke with guilt at the pleading tone in his cries. After all the sleepless nights he'd spent desperately trying to tune out that baby's screams, he should have been used to them by now. Never before had the child sounded so shocked and afraid as he did right now.

Teeth grit, Kaden cursed under his breath and flew forward, breaking both of his resolutions at once. How weak he was. But right now he was too overwhelmed to feel disgusted with himself.

He arrived in a heartbeat, grateful for the Plumber's sense to halt, and took each of his son's tiny hands in one of his own.

The Plumber turned around and without a word gently passed the baby into his father's waiting arms. Kaden wrapped the boy up so tight he could scarcely draw breath to cry. Nonetheless he carried on, fussing and wailing like he knew what was about to happen.

"I'm so sorry," Kaden muttered in a broken voice muffled by his son's fur.

The Plumber leaned in close and whispered to Kaden in an even, comforting tone, "There's no need to worry about your little one, Son. He'll be just fine. Someone will be watching over him, you see."

Sniffling from his own tears, Kaden wiped his eyes and blinked in surprise.

"Watching over him? Who?" he asked. His ears perked up as he hopefully muttered, "You?"

The Plumber chuckled and nonchalantly waved off Kaden's shattered hope. "Oh, no, not me." He paused for a second, then added in a soft, comforting tone, "I'm just the messenger."

Kaden cocked his head in confusion, too flabbergasted to ask what he meant, and the odd stranger slipped the baby from Kaden's arms back into his own. Surprisingly, the infant calmed down a little. The Plumber patted the baby on the back, offered one last reassuring smile to his father, and then turned toward the transport ship.

Kaden watched without blinking, tears streaming down his face, as the one thing he had to live for was carried away forever.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I had ya going with that chapter title, didn't I? Bet you thought Kaden was gonna die in this chapter, didn't ya? Well, psych! You've yet again underestimated my ability to prolong the inevitable. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go gather up some tissues before I brainstorm the next chapter.**

**-_ The Plumber's Back—_ I have to give my little sister full credit for this idea. At first I didn't want to do it, because I could see all these canon conflicts coming up to haunt me, but in the end the mad genius of the idea won me over. I always thought that (in the Future games, at least) the Plumber came off as a sort of guardian angel type character, and I think this true first encounter between him and Ratchet reinforces that sentiment quite nicely. :)**

**-_ The Smuggler's Back—_ This canon nugget almost didn't make it into the story. By the time I actually caught the subtle Kaden hint in ToD, I thought it was too late to work it in. Thankfully I was wrong. :) **

**-_ Whipped Cream—_ Five bolts to whoever gets the joke. XP**


	23. All That's Left

**Foreword:**

**You know, I almost thought I'd make it through this chapter without crying. Then after I typed up the last sentence, I lost it. T-T This chapter was extremely difficult to write (hence the extremely long wait), and if I'm a writer worth my salt, it'll be difficult to read as well. I think I'm still safely within the T rating, but be ready for the most graphic material I've ever dared to show in this story.**

* * *

_Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness._

— _Job 10:20-22_

« ... »

"Are you sure about this?"

"Are you ever gonna stop asking me that?"

"Not until you reconsider."

"Then the answer to both our questions would be 'no.'"

The conversation died.

A few minutes later, Aphelion worked up the nerve to say something else.

"What good does this do? How does it benefit anyone?"

"It's not about what's 'good' or 'beneficial' anymore, Feel. It's too late to be worrying about that kind of thing."

"Then what is the point? Why rush voluntarily straight into Tachyon's waiting hands? You know he will show no mercy."

"Of course I know..." Kaden trailed off. Loathe as he was to admit the truth, he could put it off no longer. It was now or never, and Aphelion deserved an answer.

"I can't hide forever. The longer I hide the weaker I'll be when he finds me—and the stronger _he'll_ be." Kaden gave a depressed sigh and after a brief pause went on to say, "I can't stop him, but if I face him now, there's a chance I can slow him down, or at least..."

"Or at least...?"

"Or at least... end it on my own terms."

Again, the conversation died.

Kaden looked out at the stars and fixed his eyes on the planet he'd once called home. The once proud Fastoon was now marred by dark clouds rising up from the fires of Tachyon's new empire. Somewhere in the ruined cities of that desolate graveyard the Cragmite was relishing his victory, making plans to hunt down and wipe out the Lombaxes who yet survived in this dimension... and after that, the ones who survived in another.

This time it was Kaden who broke the silence.

"Aphelion... there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Kaden breathed deep and dug even deeper to find the courage to finish what he had to say. "When we approach the planet, we'll be detected for sure. By the time we arrive in the upper atmosphere, there will be Drophyd ships attacking from every angle. There's no way we'll be able to touch down in one piece, so I'm going to make another halo jump once we're close enough. I'll need you to keep them busy long enough for me to get to Tachyon, so you'll have to use every trick in the book and stay airborne as long as possible.

"I understand," Aphelion said sadly, then added, "Will I be destroyed?"

Kaden bit his lip and pinched his eyes shut. He couldn't afford to start crying now. As indifferently as he could, he muttered, "Probably... but I can't take any chances."

"What do you mean by that?"

Kaden swallowed and breathed hard, trying to take comfort in the fact that this was the last heartbreaking conversation he'd ever have to muscle through.

"If you somehow survive the battle intact, Tachyon could hack your memory files. He'd find out everything you know—about where the Dimensionator is, where my son is—it would jeopardize everything."

"Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that," Aphelion exclaimed. "How will you...?"

She trailed off, and Kaden got the feeling she already knew the answer to her question. All the same, he had to tell her.

"I'm going to wipe your personal memory files, Feel. All the history between us will be deleted."

The ship was speechless. At long last she finally said, "Everything?"

"No, not everything," Kaden explained. "I'm going to leave your AI intact, and all of your raw data files. You'll still have your personality and your awareness, you'll still be who I created you to be... you just won't remember anything about me."

"I don't want to forget you, Kaden," Aphelion shouted, expressing more emotion than she ever had before. "You made me! What purpose will I have if I don't even know about you?"

"Hey, take it easy, Feel," Kaden said calmly, patting the dash board of his dear ship as a strange sense of peace overcame him. "I gave you purpose, and no one can ever take that away, not even me. Even if you don't remember me, you'll always know me. I'm a part of you."

He gripped the handles of the control stick and felt his hands shaking. It must have been him, but somewhere in his hopeful, irrational heart, he felt like it was her.

"Very well," she said. "Goodbye, Kaden."

"Goodbye, Feel," Kaden muttered regretfully, tearing up for what he promised himself would be the final time. With a trembling hand he typed in a command sequence, then sat there with his hand hovering over the initialize switch for a few seconds. The air in the cabin was heavy with sadness, and he almost had trouble drawing breath. At last he closed his eyes, gasping back tears, and hit the switch.

"Right-brain memory deletion initiated," Aphelion's voice prompted. "Time to completion: three minutes, fifty-two seconds."

Kaden sat back in his seat, wiping his tears. He had to put on a brave face for his brave ship when she would meet him for second time. All too soon the completion alarm beeped and the sound of the computer rebooting hummed through the air.

"Onboard computer online," she indifferently announced. "All systems operational."

"Fee—I mean—Aphelion," Kaden muttered. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are my pilot."

"Do you know my name?"

"I'm afraid not," Aphelion muttered, sounding embarrassed. "Strange... I know that we are going to Fastoon to mount an attack on Percival Tachyon, but I can't remember why."

"That's all right," Kaden said, ignoring the guilty feeling gnawing away at his heart. "Do you remember the plan of attack?"

"Affirmative. You will be making a halo jump over the Court of Azimuth and I am to lay down suppressive fire while you infiltrate the stronghold."

"You got it," Kaden muttered with a smile.

"I hope it's not too bold of me to say, but... this seems to me a rather reckless strategy."

Kaden smiled, relieved to know that she really was the same Aphelion he so loved. The only thing missing was her love for him.

"Yeah," he whispered in response, "you're probably right."

"Destination is now within close sensor range," Aphelion announced. "We will be entering the planet's stratosphere in approximately six minutes."

"Give me warnings at one minute intervals and count down from thirty seconds," Kaden ordered. "Scan continuously for hostile vessels and notify me if they come anywhere near firing range."

"Understood."

Kaden took a long look at his radar, then raised his head to watch as the curve of Fastoon's surface gradually filled the view in front of the ship. Both his hands gripped tighter on the helm, and he quietly slipped into one of those tactical breathing patterns Alister had taught him for controlling his heart rate.

This was it.

His wife was gone. His son was gone. Even his best friend and his greatest creation were as good as lost to him forever. All he had left was his life, and he wasn't even sure he wanted it anymore. Now he could only hope that giving it up could secure even the smallest measure of extra security for those he was leaving behind. If so, the trial he was about to face would be worth it.

They pushed in on the main continent until it became the Capitol, and before Kaden knew it the Court of Azimuth was looming on the horizon—along with a small armada of Drophyd ships.

"It's time," he said, bracing himself as the domed hatch slowly lifted away. Steadily and deliberately he stood up against the wind sheer. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself against the edge of the raised hatch and put one foot up on the outer rim of the cockpit.

"Safe journey," the ship said cheerfully.

Kaden smiled back at her as though she had a face to smile at and muttered, "Likewise... Aphelion."

He jumped.

Seconds later he heard the enemy ships soar over him, and resisted the urge to look back as the sound of gunfire filled the air all around.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

It was slow going through the dark underground cavern, but that was to be expected from the longest and most indirect of all the secret entrances to the Court. Kaden wished he could have taken the same one as when he'd come for the Dimensionator, but doubtless the Cragmite now had _that_ tunnel under constant and heavy guard.

Several hours later—Kaden wasn't sure how many—he found his way to the hidden security gate. With a smile he reached into his pocket and pulled out the most complex gizmo one could hope to hold in their hand, courtesy of the bolts that the Plumber had allowed him to keep. He flipped the 'on' switch and a small screen blinked to life. After a few minutes of work he waited while the device connected to the security system governing the door. Then he proceeded to enter his access code.

A light on top of the door blinked red, and a message in matching letters flew across the small screen above the keypad:

ACCESS DENIED

Kaden suppressed a chuckle and confidently muttered, "Of course."

Of course his access code wouldn't work. Tachyon would be a fool not to deal with such a loose end after Kaden had successfully infiltrated this place and made off with the Dimensionator.

But Kaden was the _Keeper_ of the Dimensionator. Access levels didn't get much higher than his. Whatever poor engineer was slave to the Cragmite's will would _not_ be able to simply remove Kaden's access, however good a hacker he was. The only way to keep the Keeper of the Dimensionator out of Fastoon's own citadel would be to alter the parameters of the system itself at the most fundamental level. Such a thing could not be done without leaving a few gaping holes in the security—holes that could now be used to deal a crippling blow to Tachyon's ownership of the Lombax homeworld.

Gradually the message across the door's screen scrambled into snow, then disappeared altogether, and Kaden smiled. If a year ago someone had told him that he'd end up writing a virus to destroy the security grid of his own planet... well, he certainly wouldn't have smiled.

He pressed the button to request entry, and this time the the door simply opened without even asking for his clearance code. He spat on the ground, just for the fun of it, and stuffed his hacking device back into his pocket as he stepped inside the Court of Azimuth.

He was in luck. There weren't any Drophyds in the hallway, and as he approached the first major room—the East Security Wing—he heard the angry shouts of that nails-on-chalkboard voice that was branded upon his mind with a scalding hatred.

"What do you mean, 'unarmed'?!" Tachyon shrieked The manic sounds of his mechanical throne communicated his distress.

"It won't arm, sir," gargled a Drophyd, his voice growing louder as Kaden steadily approached. The entrance to the room was coming up on his right. Light poured from a gaping doorway that was designed to be closed at all times.

"Sweep the citadel," the Cragmite screamed from what could have been spitting distance.

"Gas every room if you have to!"

The room slid into view as Kaden stepped into the light.

"Find the fool who's responsible for this and—!"

He stopped mid-sentence, his beady yellow eyes widening as they came to rest on Kaden.

"You!"

The throne lumbered forward, its driver lashing out in frustrated rage, "Do you have any idea what you've done? No door will lock, no system will deny access. You've rendered Fastoon USELESS!"

Kaden blasted forward, sailing right between the legs of Tachyon's mech. He banked left, then right to avoid the clutches of two Drophyd sentries, and one more sharp left as he reached the far edge of the wing. Leaning in carefully, he flew up the fire-escape ledge that spiraled along the inside wall of the circular room until he reached the window, then turned around to glance back at the stunned Cragmite glaring up at him.

"Yeah, that was kinda the idea," he muttered, and jumped through the window, relishing the sound of Tachyon's enraged wail fading to a whisper behind him.

He kicked his boots into full throttle as he took to the ramp's steep incline toward the ground, certain there wasn't a second to spare. Sure enough, he met the dirt with the sound of engines roaring to life behind him, and a glance over his shoulder revealed three Drophyd ships going airborne. With a sharp breath he returned his sights to the path ahead. He didn't need to watch the ships set course to know they were after him.

He headed for the rocky plains due east. He knew the terrain there well, so maybe, for a while at least, he would be able to out-maneuver them.

The lead ship got within firing range and rained down a spray of plasma, which the Lombax skillfully managed to avoid.

He banked around a sharp corner and ducked under an overhanging rock formation. The pursuing ship followed, but lacking sufficient reaction time, it smashed right into the roadblock, exploding in a ball of fire and plastering its sister ships with shrapnel as they passed.

Kaden smiled at the sound. Music to his ears. He caught sight of an anti-grav pad on his right and blasted over to it, jumping into its resonating green energy field and straightening his body as it launched him into the air. He had to get to higher ground. The last thing he wanted was to get cornered in the canyon below. He landed on the edge of the cliff, but before he could jet off, a plasma bolt shattered the cliff face, and he could only scream while the ground beneath his feet crumbled and collapsed.

Survival instincts kicked in, and he straightened himself and let his boots do what they were named for: hover. He let himself drift down into the canyon only until the drop was over water, and then cut the jets and pencil dove into the enormous pool below. He dipped deep underwater and immediately jetted back up, but any hope he had of making a quick escape died when he broke surface.

Tachyon's entourage was waiting for him, both ships parked at the edge of the water with their guns trained on him. One of them opened its lower hatch and Tachyon's battle throne crawled out like a big metal spider being ridden by a grub.

"Don't worry," the Cragmite uttered smugly, "they won't kill you. I made it clear to them that _that_ pleasure is all mi—"

Tachyon was cut off by a loud blast. He looked to the source of the sound and saw that one of his robot's arms had been blown off. Kaden stood dripping on the bank of the pool holding out his smoking blaster, and turned his aim to the machine's leg joints. His face was stern. He had no time for Tachyon's arrogant monologuing. He fired again, but this time Tachyon had the sense to evade. His spider-like mech jumped into the air, and rocketed toward the Lombax.

Kaden faced him head-on, and when Tachyon reached out his metal claw to grab him he vaulted over its grip and slid down its arm. A shot he fired straight into the cockpit missed the lucky grub pilot by a hair.

An arm of the throne smacked him aside and he flipped through the air, landing on his feet a safe distance away.

"Well, that was disappointing," Kaden sneered. "I guess that big tough-looking machine is just for show."

Tachyon shrieked in anger, barreling toward his hated enemy. Once again Kaden took the bull by the horns and waited until the mech was dangerously close before he gave his boots a single blast at full throttle. He shot up into the air and soared over the throne, spraying it with overhead gunfire. He hit two more of the throne's arms, spun around and landed a point-blank shot to the machine's proverbial gizzard. The whole monstrosity convulsed, and it's closest leg just barely warded Kaden off with a hard swing as its shock absorbers kicked in.

"Why don't you get some guns installed on that thing?" Kaden mocked, shouting through cupped hands, "then maybe it'll be able to do as much damage as I can with my bare hands!"

Tachyon hammered once down upon him, and once again he recklessly counterattacked.

Although smack-talking at Tachyon was a welcome outlet, he knew well and dreaded the beating he was inviting. He could keep up this game of cat and mouse for a little while, but at some point his luck would run out, and then it was simply a matter of how quickly his enemy decided to end it. Kaden's goal was to provoke Tachyon enough that he would kill him in anger, so he wouldn't have to face a long, miserable existence of torture in captivity as the Cragmite tried to force him to reveal the location of the Dimensionator. This had to end here and now. The Lombax Secret would die with him.

He zipped toward his Goliath once more, but this time Tachyon managed to grab him around the waist and pin him against a canyon wall. He pretended to struggle while the worm was asking him if he had any last words, a misdirection to hide that he was overloading his blaster. Suddenly he and threw it right at the spider's chest. The gun exploded with the zeal of any hand bomb, and Tachyon's war throne fell over backwards. As it hit the ground Kaden pounced into Tachyon's cockpit, zipped a knife from his belt, and slashed at the Cragmite's throat.

A shot fired, and Kaden's side seized in pain as he was blasted off the throne and crashed into the dirt, weaponless and defenseless.

The Drophyd who had shot him charged toward Tachyon's fallen mech, anxiously calling out, "Your excellency, are you all right?"

One of the claws of Tachyon's vehicle thrust forward, shattering the glass of the tank on the unsuspecting soldier's battle suit. He ripped the small orange creature from the safety of his armor and squeezed him in the cold clutches of the machine's enormous claw.

"I told you," Tachyon seethed, his focused eyes radiating pure anger, "No one touches him but me! He's MINE!"

The poor Drophyd's eyes bulged to double their usual size as he trembled in Tachyon's unforgiving grip. With one flex of the great metal fist, the poor creature exploded into a shower of ooze. His remains dripped down from the mech's claws and pooled in the sand at the feet of the ingrate whose life he had saved.

Then Tachyon turned his attention to Kaden.

The Lombax was struggling to get on his feet as he lay wounded in the dirt, holding his ribcage where the plasma bolt had struck him. There was nothing he could do as the Cragmite lumbered over to him, reached down, and picked him up by the neck. Two more metal claws grabbed each of his boots and ripped them off his feet. His left ankle snapped from the force, and he cried out in pain.

"As much as I would like to squash you like a bug right now, a sentence I would give to a member of my own ranks is not _nearly_ enough punishment for all the trouble you've caused," Tachyon seethed, gradually tightening his grip. "So before I crush your throat there's something I want you to tell me. Where have you hidden your God-forsaken spawn?"

Kaden made the saddest face he could muster in his position and rasped out the words, "he's dead."

"Liar!"

Tachyon hatefully flung his victim as hard as he could. Kaden flew through the air like a rag doll, smashed into the rock wall, and fell to the ground with a painful groan. He coughed as he tried to push himself up, and blood splattered the dirt in front of his face.

Tachyon dropped Kaden's hoverboots in the sand and took his sweet time stalking over to Kaden, all the while smoothly running his mouth.

"He won't survive, you know. My reach extends to the edges of Polaris and beyond, and I won't rest until every Lombax in the universe _perishes_ in the flames of my wrath."

Kaden had barely managed to get on his knees when one of Tachyon's iron claws maliciously knocked him over on his back and pinned him to the ground. He pushed down harder and harder as Kaden grunted and gasped until the Lombax heard the cracking of his own ribs.

"But I hope he lasts long enough for me to find him. Because I will. Just as I will find the Dimensionator, bring back the Cragmites and wipe out what's left of your God-forsaken race, I will hunt down your accursed child and I will destroy him!"

Kaden felt blood flowing into his throat, and the taste of it filled his mouth. There was so much pressure on his lungs he couldn't even scream in pain, but Tachyon's words summoned up enough spunk in his weary heart that he found the strength to chuckle weakly right in Tachyon's face and wryly mutter, "What makes you so sure... that he won't destroy _you_?"

The Cragmite's eyes narrowed in rage. He lifted his mech's arm from Kaden's body, and the Lombax gasped for breath. Without a word Tachyon grabbed his feet and started dragging him toward the water. Spasms of pain racked through him as rocks scraped against his skin and sand rubbed into his open wounds.

"You must enjoy pain, Lombax," he said, lifting Kaden up by his crushed upper body and holding him over the surface of the water at the canyon pool's deep end.

"I wiped out your entire race!"

A claw reached out, and mercilessly broke Kaden's leg.

"I built an empire with my bare hands!"

Kaden wailed in excruciating pain as it broke his other leg.

"And I'm about to send the Keeper of the Dimensionator to his watery grave."

Kaden looked up at Tachyon, rasping out deep, painful breaths, and gritting his teeth while blood dripped down his face.

"Me," the Cragmite fumed, "defeated by an abandoned Lombax kit?"

He paused for an ugly, mocking laugh, and pulled Kaden within inches of his horrible face before harshly whispering "I'd like to see him try."

The large metal arm tossed Kaden forward like a skipping stone, and he felt the sting of cold engulf his entire body as he splashed into the water. He lacked the strength to hold his breath, so he tried to relax as the water pressed in all around him, sapping his blood and choking away his air. Death's icy grip was beginning to tighten around him, and the pain started to fade as he slowly lost feeling in his limbs.

He stopped trying to breathe and closed his eyes while his mind slipped into a haze. The last of his coherent thoughts were of his darling wife, of his precious son... and of his dearest friend. Their faces smiled at him in his mind's eye as clear as though they were standing right there, and then rippled away as a reflection on the surface of water.

_Sorry I made you wait so long, Nayeli... but I'm finally coming home._

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**I want to give a shout-out to _, who left me two lovely reviews. I would've liked to respond to you in person, but since you have an anonymous account, this is the best I can do. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll continue to review!**

**-_ Aphelion's Not-So-Final Resting Place—_ See? See? I told you I had it all figured out! XP**

**-_ The Keeper of the Dimensionator's final transmutation—_ Sorry, that was a stupid little reference to Fullmetal Alchemist. XP So, I wanted Kaden to accomplish one more really impressive feat against Tachyon before getting killed, but since he obviously couldn't rid the galaxy of the annoying little pest, I thought maybe he could weaken his empire somehow, at least temporarily. I got to wondering why Tachyon has no presence on Fastoon in ToD, and from there came up with the idea that maybe Kaden could have, to some effect, 'broken' it. :P This probably conflicts with the canon somewhat, as I'm pretty sure I remember at least one locked door in the Return to Fastoon level, but oh well. I don't have time to nitpick at this point.**

**-_"Why don't you get some guns installed on that thing?"__—_ As much as I hate the idea of Kaden giving Tachyon an idea that he later uses against Ratchet, I just couldn't resist this line! XP Plus, I had already kinda designed the battle between them without missiles flying all over the place. ^^'**

**There's actually one more chapter left, but since this is the end for Kaden, I think this is the best time for my closing sentiment... I truly believe that God gave me the inspiration to write this story, so on His behalf I want to relay the message to all you wonderful folks out there reading that He loves you. Like Kaden feels about Aphelion, you are His precious creation. Like Kaden feels about Ratchet, you are his beloved child. And even if you go through your whole life having never known Him, it doesn't change the fact that He loved you enough to suffer and die so that you could be saved. All He really wants is for you to love Him back.**

"**For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." —John 3:16**


	24. Epilogue

**Foreword:**

**Well, this is it. The final chapter of my first novel-length fanfiction. We've come a long way. I can hardly believe that I've been working on this story for over two years, and that it's finally come to its end. I wanna cry. T-T**

**Well, about the only thing left to show is what happened to Alister after he failed to meet up with Kaden, so here it is. Hopefully after reading it everyone who's been keeping up with the story will understand and sympathize with General Azimuth the way I do, and will dicscover a greater respect for the tragedy that unfolds at the end of _A Crack in Time_.**

* * *

_Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him._

_Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope._

_Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace._

_For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love._

_For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone._

— _Lamentations 3:29_

« ... »

Curse the space pirates. Wretched, heartless, selfish little beasts.

Alister had one chance to reunite with his best friend. _One chance _to redeem himself to Kaden. And just like that, it was gone. Just because, of all times, a pirate envoy decided to raid his ship while he was on his way to the rendezvous point.

Curse them, and any other race that would consort with Percival Tachyon. They could all go carpet the Devil's floor together.

If only the damage to his ship after the battle hadn't taken so long to repair. He might have still made it. But once again, 'if only' was a cruel and useless wish—the mother of bitter regret. For when he arrived at the promised place, Kaden wasn't there.

The next few months had passed in a dizzying blur alternating between unbelievably fast and agonizingly slow. He searched for Kaden without rest; but with nothing to go on, he might as well have been trying to catch dust in the wind. Narrow escapes from Tachyon's forces became routine for him, but they never got easier. Each time he faced a new squad of Drophyd soldiers he was weaker and less alert. Every day he wondered if this was the day they would finally get the best of him.

Alister took to wearing a cloak and mask whenever he had to enter a public setting and kept to the dark lawless places where suspicious folks tended to gather and such attire was common. However, regularly spending time in places full of desperate characters carried its own set of problems. You didn't have to be a Lombax for someone to want to rob you, and if you _did_ happen to be a Lombax the danger was even greater. Alister had to stay on his toes every waking second, and sleep was a hard-earned prize in these perilous months.

Lady Luck gave him a ghost of a smile one day when he was refueling his ship at a secluded spaceport. He stepped inside a seedy bar to find something to take the edge off another horrible day, and instead found something better—a lead.

"I'm tellin' ya, this Lombax was the gutsiest thing on two legs I've ever _seen_," rambled a deep, accented voice.

Alister froze in his tracks and snapped his head around to see a lanky blue alien sitting at the counter, hunched over a drink and talking to the bartender.

"Wasn't wearin' no disguise or nothin'! Even pointed his blaster right at me." He tipped his cowboy hat and smugly added, "I still got a pretty good deal out of 'im, though."

Alister flew over to him and smacked both hands on the counter. "Where did you see this Lombax? What was his name?"

The still small voice of reason was already scolding him for his tactless approach, but he was deaf to it. Hope had dwindled so much these past few months that any chance to rekindle it was more than he could resist.

The stranger looked at Alister and raised an eyebrow at his odd getup. "What's it to ya, friend?" He held up his right hand and rubbed his thumb and fingers together as he suggestively added, "Or rather, what's it _worth_ to ya?"  
Alister was tempted to beat it out of him right there, but the voice of reason spoke loud enough this time that he was able to restrain himself. With a sigh and a roll of his eyes behind his mask, he reached into his pocket and greased the opportunist's palm with some bolts he'd lifted off the last bounty hunter who had tried to capture him for Tachyon.

"Now let's see," the guy muttered in a mock innocent tone that made Alister want to punch him. "The gentleman didn't give me his name and he wasn't stupid enough to tell me where he was headed, but he was the type of character you don't forget. He was either a genius or a nut. I could've sworn I heard him talkin' to his ship at one point."

Alister's heart skipped a beat. "What business did you have with him?"

"Oh, I don't know if I should tell you that, friend; might be a violation of buyer-seller confidentiality."

Alister growled under his breath and shoved some more bolts in the crook's face.

"Well, now, can't argue with that logic," he sneered, stuffing the bolts in his own pockets. "Kid sold me a modified gyrocycle. Beautiful thing, too. Runs like a dream, and is it ever fast! Great for those times when you've, uh—just gotta get away."

Wait—Kaden had _sold_ his gyrocycle? That didn't make any sense. Why, in this desperate situation, would he trade a piece of useful technology that could help him survive for something as worthless as money? "Was he in the market for something in particular?"

"Well, now, I don't know anything for sure, but an associate of mine recently told me about a similar experience he had with the same Lombax—least we _think_ it was the same one. Says the little furball bought a covert software interface utility from him. He let it go cheap on accounta it was waaay outta the depth of any of his regular customers, but he said the Lombax was confident he could handle it. Said he seemed like he had something specific in mind."

The alien leaned his scaly head in close to Alister's face and whispered, "Interestingly enough, right after that was when Fastoon got abandoned."

"What?" Alister exclaimed, a little too loud.

"Haven't you heard? A while back Tachyon had all his forces withdraw from Fastoon. Something about the planetary security grid goin' down. Whole planet's been deserted ever since."

The stranger leaned back and took a casual swig of his drink.

Alister just stood there, his mind reeling. _Kaden, you didn't..._

The anxious Lombax turned tail and made a beeline for the exit.

"Good luck finding your friend, friend," the mysterious stranger called out, but Alister didn't stop to acknowledge him.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

It was perplexing how the view of Fastoon from space had hardly changed at all while the surface was hardly recognizable anymore. Alister gazed about the ruins of the Capitol and swallowed hard, his gorge rising at the sight. No matter how hard he tried to suppress his emotions and focus his thoughts, he couldn't stop himself from reliving the day it all came crashing down. Flashes of fire, peals of screaming, explosions, buildings crumbling, blood everywhere.

Alister shook his head hard and clasped his hands over his ears as if doing so could drown out the voice of the past. He forced himself to control his breathing. Inhale deep, hold, then repeat, just like they'd taught him in the academy. Eventually his heart rate slowed down, and he was able to focus again.

Aphelion's signature came up on radar as he approached the Capitol, and minutes later he landed at the source of the reading and found her remains. The ship was badly damaged. Clearly she'd been in a firefight. The domed roof of her cockpit was hanging wide open. It took Alister a moment to work up the courage to step forward and look inside, but when he did the cabin was completely empty. No scratch marks, no blood—Kaden clearly got out before the ship had crashed.

Alister breathed a sigh of relief, but it was too soon to celebrate. He had to find out what happened to him after he abandoned ship.

He was about to leave, when a sparkle caught his eye, and he took a closer look into the cabin. On the floor, just below the pilot's seat, was a small, round metal bauble reflecting the light of the sun from the one small edge of its surface which stuck out from behind a shadow. Curious, Alister reached down and picked the trinket up. In his hands it looked like some sort of old-fashioned timepiece. He'd seen them occasionally in period holofilms. He fumbled with it for a moment, trying to get it open, and finally the two halves of the thing separated and fell open like a book in the palm of his hand.

Alister's heart stopped, then immediately sped up when he saw what was inside. It was the picture. The one Kaden had taken of the two of them years ago. He could hardly believe he had held onto it until now, after everything that had happened.

His eyes began to sting, and he closed the watch quickly, before he could start to cry, and stuffed it in his utility belt.

If Kaden ejected before the ship crashed, there was only one place he would have gone. Alister dashed back to his ship and took a flying leap into the cockpit. He was already punching in the course before his hatch had even closed.

« ... »

Seconds before he would have arrived at the Court of Azimuth, Alister stopped his ship dead in its tracks. Flying low to the ground, he noticed something out of place in this deserted stretch of open plain: signs of a battle. Anywhere else that would have been normal, but this was the backyard of the Court. It led to nothing but undeveloped desert for at least five hundred miles. There was nothing to conquer out there, and certainly nowhere to hide where one could survive. By all rights, it should've been the only spot in the whole Capitol that _didn't_ bear scars of battle. And yet, there were black streaks and disturbances in the sand characteristic of an aggressive pursuit, connected by a faint line that looked like... hoverboot tracks.

Alister wrenched his joystick into a hard 90 degree turn and kicked his engine back into gear. He followed those tracks at the highest speed that would still allow for analysis, reconstructing the chase in his mind second-by second as he pressed further into the wild frontier of Fastoon's untamed desert. It didn't take long before he reached the end of the trail, and his heart rate charged with fearful curiosity.

A large clearing at the base of a canyon was clearly the site of a mighty one-on one struggle. A maze of Hoverboot tracks and machine-made prints looped and crisscrossed everywhere, but Alister's gaze was shortly drawn to something in the center of it all. He landed his ship in a hurry, and climbed out, then rushed to the center of the battlefield, where he gasped at what he saw. A pang of deep worry racked his soul as he reached down and picked up a small pair of hoverboots. There was no doubt about it; they were Kaden's.

Frantically Alister looked around the area for some sign of what had happened after Kaden had lost them, and got his answer all too soon. A patch of dirt near one of the canyon walls was stained with the deep scarlet of dry blood. Sickeningly enough, Alister found drips and streaks of the same blackish red trailing away from the source. Horror gripped tighter on his heart with every passing second as he slowly followed the trail of blood to its final destination.

Alister squeezed his eyes shut and fell to his knees, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white against the sand. He choked on the sobs that rose up in his throat from the pit growing in his stomach. There was no longer any reasonable hope that he could be mistaken. Kaden was gone. Drowned in the waters of his own homeworld, by a creature Alister had empowered to do so.

He couldn't take it anymore. The guilt, the heartbreak, the unspeakable self loathing. The only thing keeping him going these past few months had been the frail possibility that he might be able to help his friend—to undo even the smallest measure of the unforgivable damage he'd done. Now, even that hope was gone. There was nothing left for him now.

He whipped his blaster from its holster, set it to full power and pressed its barrel up against his chin. He deserved to die. No, he deserved worse than that. He deserved to wallow in his misery for all eternity, never again to feel the of warmth of another's touch, or draw comfort from the presence of someone who cared for him. But, selfish coward that he was, he didn't have the strength to face such justice. He couldn't bear the weight of his sorrow any longer. He had to end it.

Tears and memories flowed freely like blood from a fresh wound as he began to squeeze the trigger. Councilwoman Ulima had been right. Time _was_ cruel...

_"So what you're saying is, you think somewhere out in space there's a clock that can control time?"_

Alister gasped, and he froze just shy of following through with his resolve. That memory... Where had it come from? The voice of the speaker came back to him after a moment's thought. It was Hadrian, Kaden's long-time rival. He had said that on the day Kaden had presented his time-travel hypothesis to the Council.

_"That's my theory, yes,"_ had been Kaden's response. The whole memory was flooding into his mind now, as vibrantly familiar as something that had happened yesterday.

_"Time is a living, breathing thing," _Ulima had stated in response to Kaden's suggestion. _"Powerful, beautiful—oftentimes cruel. It can humble the strongest army, shape mountains to its will, and turn entire oceans to dust. If a machine that can manipulate it in any way truly exists, it's not the sort of thing that should be made known. Someone with your imagination should understand why this is so."_

Turn entire oceans to dust...

Alister looked out across the surface of the tranquil pool that was now his best friend's grave.

What if he had been right? What if such a thing actually existed? Truly time was a beast as powerful as it was cruel, but what if it could be tamed?

Alister gazed long and hard at the surface of the water, so calm after such a horrible crime had been committed in its very body, and hope slowly began to fill his heart once more.

"How relevant is the past..." he murmured distantly, "if it can be changed?"

He lowered his blaster, got up, and headed for his ship. With each deliberate step he stamped out the memories, pain, and anger, and allowed them to feed the fire of ambition gradually lighting up in him once more.

If there was a way to take it all back, he would find it. He would dedicate his life to it, and would seek nothing else until his dying breath. He swore a wordless oath within the recesses of his soul, and buried all his pain in raw determination.

Nothing would stop him. No one would get in his way. He would find that Clock if it was the last thing he ever did.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**-_ Geography of Fastoon—_ Yeah, I can barely handle geography for Earth, let alone some made-up alien planet. ^^' I'm sure I got some stuff wrong, but what can I say? Have I mentioned I don't have much free time?**

**-_ Theme Song: "Sound the Bugle" (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron OST)—_ This is pretty self-explanatory.**

**« ... »**

**Afterword**

**_The General and Kaden_ has represented a lot of firsts for me as a writer. This was my first tragedy, my first 'space opera' (XP), the first story I've written with two main characters, and the first time I've ever actually _killed_ a main character in the end. T-T It's been a tremendous experience, and I've learned a lot from it, both about myself and about writing in general. I'd like to give warm thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who read and/or reviewed the story all these years. Your gentle critique and strong encouragement have meant a lot to me and kept me going. I now feel like I'm ready to take the next step with my original fiction, and that's what I'll be working on almost exclusively for the next few months. Thus I want to let my subscribers know that I probably won't be posting any fanfiction, except maybe a few scattered oneshots, for quite some time. My goal is to be officially published by the time the Ratchet & Clank movie is released next year, and my hope is that this will make the two-year wait feel like no time at all. :P**

**Oh, and I hope everyone who read this story will check out the oneshot I just posted entitled 'Standing Still.' It's sort of a short spinoff of TGaK designed to help take the edge off the ending. I think anyone who liked _The General and Kaden_ will like _Standing Still_ as well. :)**

**Bonus! Fun Factoids about TGaK:**

**_- The General and Kaden_ was originally intended to be no longer than ten chapters. #_# Don't ask me how I thought I could pull that off, because I have no idea.**

**- Many of the canon characters who made an appearance, such as Aphelion and The Plumber, were conceived into the story as an afterthought, and I often had to change my plans for the chapter in order to work them in. ^-^**

**- Nayeli's father was renamed shortly after his introduction when I realized that the name I chose had already been used earlier in the story. *~* I got the name 'Dezmond' from a Barbie movie. It was the first half-decent name to pop into my head, and I've never really liked it. ^^'**

**- If you remove all the Forewords and Author's Notes, the total length of the story gets cut down by almost 9,000 words! O.O My next writing project should be an autobiography entitled, _'The Chatty Writer.'_ :P**


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